The Juneteenth celebration’s purpose has shifted of late, and Wil Alston wants to ensure the transition goes smoothly.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when word finally reached Texas about the Emancipation Proclamation – freeing the country’s last slaves two years after President Lincoln signed the document.
Recently the festival has centered more on black culture and community. And Alston has big plans for making sure the festival fulfills those goals.
“For me, I’d really like to see it have a bigger, broader impact on the community,” said Alston, who is producing this year’s event.
The Five Points celebration will be stronger than last year’s, with an expanded lineup and almost 30 vendors.
The celebration takes place along 26th Street in Denver’s historic Five Points neighborhood. Alston set up a main stage at 26th and Welton, where entertainment includes two contests modeled after the old “Gong Show,” a gospel concert and a host of other activities going all day Saturday.
Alston hopes this year’s celebration will bolster Denver’s Juneteenth tradition. He wants to establish a Juneteenth treasury; funds would help support the celebration and the Five Points community.
“With this fund, a lot of these cultural organizations along Five Points could apply for grants for things like marketing or to bring in consultants to help with operational things, and improve their business,” Alston said.
Alston also wants to unify the celebration. A second operation, the Kingdom of Glory Christian Center, edged Five Points in a lottery for a parade permit. As a result, two separate Juneteenth celebrations are taking place.
“I wouldn’t mind working with them at all for the future,” said Pastor Juanitha Jacobs-Brennan of the Kingdom of Glory. “That door was open, but I think we didn’t have enough time.”
The Kingdom of Glory parade starts at Welton and Downing streets at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Booths and music will be at Sonny Lawson Park on Saturday and Sunday.
If Alston has his way, Juneteenth will grow stronger in the coming years. His vision is long-term, but his time may be short. The Nineteenth of June Community Celebration organization hired him just for 2006. It’s unclear what his role will be beyond that.
The NOJCC took over the event in 2005 after the Five Points Business District announced it lacked funds to operate the festival.
This year, Alston has brought stability to a festival that once ranked among the nation’s largest such celebrations, attracting nearly 70,000 people in its three-day run.
Alston has raised funds through corporate sponsorship. With the added revenue, he hopes this year’s Juneteenth re-creates the atmosphere of past celebrations – with workshops, vendors and entertainment.
“That was the formula the previous festivals stood on,” Alston said. “I wanted to move back to that, whereas recently they didn’t really have the formal entertainment, and they had a limited number of vendors.”
Staff writer Scott Lieber can be reached at 303-820-1694 or at slieber@denverpost.com
| Juneteenth Celebrations
CULTURAL FESTIVALS|26th and Welton, Five Points neigbhorhood; 26th and Welton festival; 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday; sponsored by NOJCC|Sonny Lawson Park, Park Avenue and Welton; music, food, arts and crafts; 10:30 a.m. (after parade)- 5 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday; sponsored by Kingdom of Glory Christian Center|FREE|For more information, 303-842-5150 (NOJCC) or 303-293-2230 (Kingdom of Glory)
