Events will feature food, music, dance, and films on June 19 and 20.
By Ifhmalee Caceuis
Original Air Date: June 12, 2026
Host: Get ready for art, dance, good food and celebration: It’s Juneteenth next week. Ifhmalee Caceuis gives us a preview.
Ifhmalee Caceuis: Juneteenth is observed every year on June 19. It commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas learned they were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. Today, communities across the country mark the holiday through education, reflection and celebration.
Still shots from a video about last year’s Juneteenth celebrations. | Courtesy WCBTT
Several events are planned in Sarasota County next week to honor the holiday.
Peterly Jean-Baptiste: Juneteenth means a celebration of resilience. Reminds me of the old adage, “Delayed but not denied.” That often, to me, speaks to the strength behind being resilient and knowing that things can always and will always get better.
IC: This is Peterly Jean-Baptiste, Education and Outreach Associate at the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe. He says the holiday serves as a reminder of both the struggles and achievements of Black Americans.
PJB: It’s important for us to highlight and celebrate this Black holiday that celebrates freedom and resilience and joy.
IC: The celebration begins Friday next week—June 19—with an art exhibition featuring work by local ceramic artist Osa Atoe and artifacts from the African American Cultural Resource Center housed at the Betty J. Johnson North Sarasota Library.
The evening will conclude with “Beats, Words and Movement,” a live performance directed by West Coast Black Theatre founder and artistic director Nate Jacobs featuring local artists, musicians and spoken word performers.
Activities continue Saturday, June 20 with African dance, student films, spoken word performances, local vendors, food trucks and a performance of Brian L. Boyd’s production, Enigma.
Jean-Baptiste says events like these demonstrate how the arts help preserve culture and history.
PJB: Visual arts, performing arts just help us live the legacies of past creators, artists and people who have paved the way
IC: Another Juneteenth event in Sarasota:
A community Juneteenth Celebration co-sponsored by the City of Sarasota will take place from 1 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, along Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Way between North Links Avenue and Pershing Avenue in Newtown.
The event will feature live music, food trucks, vendors and family activities.
For Jean-Baptiste, the significance of Juneteenth goes beyond any single event.
PJB: The goal of the festival is to celebrate Blackness—to celebrate freedom—to celebrate joy.
IC: For more information about local Juneteenth events, visit Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe’s website or the City of Sarasota’s community events listings.
Reporting for WSLR News, this is Ifhmalee Caceuis.
WSLR News aims to keep the local community informed with our 1/2 hour local news show, quarterly newspaper and social media feeds. The local news broadcast airs on Wednesdays and Fridays at 6pm.