Juneteenth

Santa Cruz Juneteenth celebrates Black Liberation and Freedom for our 35th year on June 13th in Laurel Park Visit santacruzjuneteenth.com.

Always free, there's plenty of activities for children too, including the sack race and the basketball clinic.

Interested in being a vendor at Juneteenth? Check out the Event page!

Donate to Santa Cruz Juneteenth 2026 at Friends of Parks and Recreation!

2026 Juneteenth Event

History of Juneteenth

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers, led by General Gordon Granger, arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced the freedom of enslaved people two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. The delay was due to the difficulty in enforcing the proclamation in Confederate states, making Juneteenth the day many enslaved African Americans learned they were free. Celebrations began in 1866 and have grown, with Juneteenth becoming a state holiday in Texas in 1980 and a U.S. federal holiday in 2021.