The 29th Annual Juneteenth Ohio Festival begins Friday at Genoa Park.
Juneteenth marks the day that the last enslaved Africans were freed in Texas in 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. The day has long been celebrated by the Black community but only became a national holiday in 2021.
From noon 3 p.m. on Friday entry was free for visitors, where people could sit and listen to live performances while grabbing food from assorted food trucks and businesses.
Performers for the day include the Copestatic Band, The Mac Flava Band and jazz artist NaJee.
The festival at Genoa Park will continue till Saturday evening with more vendors, food and musical performances.
Sydney Smith and her son stopped in front of the main stage to have lunch to have some family time.
“I'm here to celebrate Juneteenth and just be involved with the city of Columbus. So, I know there's live music and celebrations and good food, so I just like supporting,” said Smith.
Others, like Lydia Godbott of Columbus, have seen the celebration grow since attending the first organized festival.
Godbott wore a shirt of Bessie Coleman, the world’s first American woman, and of African and Indigenous descent, to earn an international pilot’s license in 1921. Coleman raised funds to start an aviation training school for African American pilots before her death in an aerial show rehearsal.
Godbott said she has learned lot of important African American figures from her husband who researches history.
“I like this one, because it's to remind me that this lady was one of the first to fly,” Godbott said. “This is letting me know I'm in the right place, but It's mainly helps me understand a lot about America, because it took a long time to get here.”
