Blue and white tents lined Welton Street on Saturday afternoon as Denver residents and members of the Five Points neighborhood celebrated Juneteenth.
Cities across the nation hold Juneteenth celebrations to mark June 19, 1865 — the day many Texas slaves learned they were free even though President Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier.
“It’s great,” said Marilyn Casmon, pointing at the tents that stretched from 24th to 27th streets. “You get to see people you haven’t seen in a while, meet people in the neighborhood, and the booths have everything you can imagine.”
Casmon said she has been to every Juneteenth celebration since she moved to the city 15 years ago. This is the first year she has run her own booth.
Casmon talked to passers-by about her organization, Casmon Black College Bound Tours, which helps young people of color apply to colleges and find scholarships.
“We have everybody here, people from all walks of life,” Casmon said. “I love it.”
The celebration kicked off around 10 a.m. with a parade down Welton Street.
Rita Lewis, president of the NAACP Denver branch, said she had been at her booth since 8 a.m.
“We wanted to be a part of this to support the history of Juneteenth and advocate for issues in the city — education, discrimination,” Lewis said.
The NAACP tent was in the middle of the celebration, with live music coming from one end and the smell of barbecue coming from the other.
Other booths offered snow cones, face painting, homemade straw purses and mood rings.
Although the Denver celebration usually lasts one day, organizers extended it to today. The festival will start again at 11 a.m. and end around 5 p.m.
The festival will benefit the Colorado Association of Black Professional Engineers & Scientists, Byrne Urban Scholars, Men Who Care and Ameribill job training.
Erin Udell: 303-954-1223 or eudell@denverpost.com
