12+ Uptown NYC Events Celebrating Juneteenth 2024

From a Harlem street festival to a farm party, Uptown is brimming with activity this month in honor of Juneteenth. 

Signed into law as a federal holiday in 2021 and recognized as an official University holiday by the Columbia University Senate in 2023, Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States by honoring the historic day of June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to inform enslaved African Americans that they were free, and the Civil War was over, two months after the war ended and two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

Juneteenth has been celebrated for many years across the U.S. and in Upper Manhattan, and this year is no exception. There’s plenty to do all month in honor of Juneteenth, so we've compiled a list of events happening all over Uptown. 

Know of another Juneteenth event that we should include here? Send us an email.

Culture on the Corner: Juneteenth with The Unsung Collective

Date & Time: June 14, 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Price: Free
Location: The Forum: 601 W. 125th St.

Culture on the Corner is a free, public event series hosted by Columbia’s The Forum. The series celebrates and explores the vibrant tapestry of the neighborhood in creative ways. In honor of Juneteenth, The Forum is inviting The Unsung Collective Inc., a nonprofit organization devoted to celebrating people of color in Western art music, for a unique and immersive performance of classical music. The Unsung Collective navigates countless stories that are the true fabric of historical and current events, with aims to stretch the confines of music of the Western canon.

4th Annual Juneteenth Freedom Fest NYC: Black To The Future!

Date & Time: June 15, 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
Price: Free
Location: Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building: 163 W. 125th. St. 

The 4th Annual Juneteenth Freedom Fest NYC is a day full of celebration, empowerment, and community right in the heart of Harlem. This year’s theme, Black to the Future, honors the past, present, and future. Join Freedom Fest for live performances, give-aways, shopping with local vendors, and much more.  

2024 Juneteenth Jubilee

Date & Time: June 15, 12:00 pm - 3:30 pm 
Price: Free
Location: W. 115th St. and St. Nicholas Ave. 

Made for Me Books works to provide young people with a diverse collection of books in their homes, partnering with local Harlem-based groups to carry out their mission. For Juneteenth, the organization will be hosting their 4th Annual Juneteenth Jubilee, complete with an opening ceremony and followed by afternoon activities for all ages ranging from readings, to live performance, free books, and more. 

31st Annual Harlem Juneteenth Parade and Street Festival

Date & Time: June 15, 11:00 am - 6:00 pm 
Price: Free
Location: W. 116th St. between Malcolm X Blvd. and 5th Ave. 

Celebrate Juneteenth with the longest-running Juneteenth parade and street festival in New York State. In its 31st year, this legendary parade and festival highlights African American history and culture complete with a parade with festive floats and a street fair with educational, cultural, health and recreational resources. 

Schomburg Center Literary Festival

Date & Time: June 15, 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
Price: Free
Location: Schomburg Center, 515 Malcolm X Blvd., and 135th St. from Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd. to Malcolm X Blvd. 

The Schomburg Center’s annual literary festival returns! This event is a great family-friendly way to honor the holiday and highlight the importance of passing down books and cultural knowledge. The line-up for the day includes an opening performance and keynote conversation, a celebration of justice-oriented children's books, an outdoor marketplace, and more. 

Celebrate Juneteenth in Seneca Village

Date & Time: June 15, 12:00 pm 
Price: Free
Location: Seneca Village in Central Park: West Side between 82nd St. and 89th St. 

The Central Park Conservancy will be honoring Juneteenth and Seneca Village with “Spirit of Community.” This event will be complete with hands-on family-friendly activities, archaeological insights, and opportunities to engage with Conservancy guides to relive the traditions of Seneca Village’s residents and sense of community cultivated by the three original churches. Learn more about Seneca Village here.

Juneteenth March 5k Run/Walk/Roll

Date & Time: June 19, 1:00 pm
Price: Free, donations welcome
Location: Seneca Village in Central Park: West Side between 82nd St. and 89th St.

Honor the holiday by joining the annual Juneteenth March 5K Run, Walk & Roll. All proceeds from the march will go towards the building fund of the Harlem Center, a 10-year effort started by a coalition of New York centered, community-based organizations that will increase the capacity to address unmet needs and gaps in service delivery. 

Opera in the Park: An Operatic Juneteenth Celebration

Date & Time: June 19, 6:00 pm 
Price: Free 
Location: West Side Community Garden: 123 W. 89th St.

In honor of Juneteenth, On Site Opera is collaborating with Grammy-winning singer Kenneth Overton to present a free opera concert. The program will feature excerpts from operatic works by Black composers and librettists, spotlighting their significant contributions to the genre. Featured selections include compositions by Scott Joplin and William Grant Still, along with librettist Langston Hughes.

“The Wiz” Juneteenth Event at Morningside Park

Date & Time: June 19, 6:00 pm - 10:30 pm
Price: Free
Location: Morningside Park (Southwest Corner near the Baseball Fields) 

Join Columbia’s Teacher College Alumni & Community Engagement alongside Friends of Morningside Park for a free screening of The Wiz (1978) in celebration of Juneteenth. The Wiz is a classic, musical film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, featuring an all-Black cast, including Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow, and is set in a fantastical version of Harlem.

Juneteenth Celebration at Harlem Grown

Date & Time: June 22, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm 
Price: Free
Location: Harlem Grown’s 134th St. Farm: 116 W. 134th St. 

Harlem Grown, a Columbia Community Service grantee, is holding its very first Juneteenth Celebration. This June, you can join the organization for a farm party to honor Blackness and its cultural roots in Harlem. This event will commemorate this day while also educating, empowering, and elevating their community by sharing recipes and highlighting Harlem-based businesses. 

Good Vibes in the Park 2024

Date & Time: June 22, 1:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Price: Free
Location: St. Nicholas Park: W. 135th St and St. Nicholas Ave. 

Good Vibes in the Park (GVIP) is an outdoor gathering established in Harlem that creates safe spaces, centers mental health, wellness and joy. Interested in volunteering? GVIP is looking for volunteers to help out with their June event. Sign up here.

Juneteenth at The New York Public Library

The New York Public Library (NYPL) is holding free events at branches across the city, ranging from live author talks and panels to book discussions to movie screenings, and more.

Here are a few events that are taking place at Uptown NYPL locations: 

• June 13, 1:00 pm - 3:15 pm: Juneteenth Film Series: Race (2016) at Macomb's Bridge Library
• June 18, 1:00 pm - 1:45 pm: Meet the Collections: Celebrating Juneteenth at Harry Belafonte 115th Street Library
• June 18, 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm:  Juneteenth Crafts at Macomb’s Bridge Library

Here are a few other ways to honor Juneteenth: 

• Register and exercise your right to vote or volunteer for voter registration
• Support local, Black-owned businesses
• Visit museums and libraries that specialize in Black history, like the Schomburg Center