INDIANAPOLIS – The Eiteljorg Museum’s annual Juneteenth and Jazz Community Celebration returns Saturday, June 17. Admission is free that day, and events include jazz performances by Greg Sansing and the Jazzsetters and the Rob Dixon Quartet, as well as poetry readings, storytelling, art-making activities and more.
The Eiteljorg will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 17 with free admission. Juneteenth festivities begin at 11 a.m. with a welcome from community activist, influencer and college professor Dr. Tammy L. Cooper, who recently joined the Eiteljorg Community Board of Advisors. In addition to music sets by two jazz groups, other performances include the hymn “Lift Every Voice” by vocalist Christopher Wilburn; songs by the African American heritage vocal group Freetown Village Singers; and poetry readings by Patrice Stokes. Performances will take place on the museum’s outdoor stage under The Sails. In case of inclement weather, they will be moved indoors.
Visitors can enjoy family-friendly activities such as creating Juneteenth buttons and designing a music poster. Food trucks will be available in nearby White River State Park. The Eiteljorg’s volunteer Guides will be in the galleries discussing artwork in current exhibitions throughout the day. The event is presented in coordination with the neighboring Indiana State Museum, which will also offer free admission and Juneteenth activities the same day.
For a schedule of performers and a list of additional Juneteenth resources, visit the webpage, Eiteljorg.org/Juneteenth.
Juneteenth marks the day at the end of the Civil War in June 1865 when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce the war was over and that all enslaved people were freed, 2½ years after Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. Having been observed since then in African American communities as Juneteenth, Jubilee Day or Freedom Day, the holiday is traditionally celebrated with barbecues, parades, prayer services and more. Juneteenth officially became a federal holiday in 2021.
