Juneteenth Festival Announced at Segerstrom Center For The Arts

The three-day long festival kicks off with a special Juneteenth Summer Sounds concert on Friday.

By: May. 20, 2022
Enter Your Email to Unlock This Article

Plus, get the best of BroadwayWorld delivered to your inbox, and unlimited access to our editorial content across the globe.




Existing user? Just click login.

Juneteenth Festival Announced at Segerstrom Center For The Arts

Segerstrom Center for the Arts expands its Juneteenth Celebration this year with a weekend long festival of events- Good Vibrations and Liberation! - on the Julianne and George Argyros Plaza, Friday, June 17- Sunday, June 19. The three-day long festival kicks off with a special Juneteenth Summer Sounds concert on Friday, followed by a day on the Plaza filled with performances, art making, and poetry celebrating Black artists, creativity, and liberation. Saturday concludes with a family movie night featuring a screening of "I Tried So Hard for You," a short dance film that explores the multi-generational dynamics of African American women, and a panel discussion with the directors/choreographers Tula Strong and Neima Patterson. Following the discussion, enjoy a free outdoor screening of "Black Panther" under the stars. The Hometown Family Affair culminates with a catered Father's Day lunch celebrating fatherhood, family, and freedom. Sunday's event will feature a performance by the award-winning Tatiana Tate Jazz Band and a poetry reading.

In honoring freedom this year, we uplift individual voices that make up the larger community in which we thrive and live together. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Vice President of Community Engagement, Dr. Natalie J. Graham shares, "Nothing opposed our national ideals and vision more than the persistence of slavery in the United States. Everyone in this nation should celebrate this holiday with equal vigor. Juneteenth is a true celebration of American independence. Celebrating Juneteenth is part of Segerstrom Center for the Art's mission to create a more connected Orange County. As a cultural arts center we know it's vital to develop programs for everyone in our community to come together and explore, create, and have fun."

On June 19,1865, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Texas to inform enslaved people about President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which had been issued on January 1, 1863. The news didn't reach Texas until two years later, and this discrepancy has been part of the ongoing conversation about what it means to be free in the United States. Juneteenth has become a day to commemorate freedom and an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the impact of racial slavery in the United States.

Juneteenth Weekend Festival: Good Vibrations and Liberation!

Friday, June 17: Grown and Classy Kickback

7-9pm Summer Sounds Concert

Saturday, June 18: Express Yourself!

2pm Pouring of Libations in honor of ancestors and poetry reading "Mother to Son" by Gwen Alexis

2:10pm-2:40pm Extra Ancestral African Diaspora Dance performances

3:00pm-3:30pm Richard BlackSher Band

3:30pm-5:00pm Art-making on the Plaza

5pm-6pm "Our Voices, Our Families" Spoken word and poetry hosted by bridgette bianca

7:30pm-8:15pm "I tried so hard for you" Screening & Pre-Show

A dance film that takes a look at the multi-generational dynamics of African American women. Followed by a discussion with directors/choreographers Tula Strong and Neima Patterson

8:15pm-10:00pm Film Screening: Black Panther

Sunday, June 19: Fatherhood, Family, and Freedom

1pm Tatiana Tate Jazz Band

1:45pm Poetry Reading featuring F. Douglas Brown, Conney Williams, Peter J. Harris, and more.

2:25pm Presentation in collaboration with Parenting for Liberation

*Artists and schedule subject to change

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is an innovative, nonprofit arts organization committed to supporting artistic excellence, creating impactful educational programs, and dedicated to engaging a culturally connected, inclusive and vital Orange County community for all, through the power of live performance.

As the leading cultural arts hub, the Center presents a variety of programming with performances by international dance companies, Broadway national tours, jazz and cabaret musicians, chamber orchestras and ensembles, comedy, and speaker series. Through the Education and Community Engagement departments, the Center also delivers family-friendly programming and performances on the Julianne and George Argyros Plaza; these events include outdoor movie screenings, concerts, dance classes, diverse festivals and more.

With six venues on a beautiful multi-disciplinary campus, Segerstrom Center for the Arts proudly serves as the artistic home to three of the region's major performing arts organizations: Pacific Symphony, Philharmonic Society of Orange County and Pacific Chorale as well as two independently acclaimed organizations: Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory and a site opening this fall as the home of the Orange County Museum of Art. Segerstrom Center is also home to the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School and Studio D, Arts School for All Abilities.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts applauds its corporate partners including Kaiser Permanente, Official Health Care Partner and United Airlines, Official Airline.



Videos