Juneteenth

A sweet potato pie contest will be held in downtown Baltimore to commemorate Juneteenth Jubilee, an African-American holiday. The contest will be held at Lexington Market's center court from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. June 7. The winner will be flown to Sarasota, Fla., to compete in a national pie contest. All pies will be donated to charity. A pie-eating competition also will be held. Information: 410-889- 1617.

Happy summer, dear readers! Summer officially begins with the summer solstice on June 21 at 2:46 a.m. in Havre de Grace (and all along the East Coast, USA, of course). I double dare you to stay awake and welcome summer's arrival. Visit Susquehanna State Park or the North Park Trail for a little of William Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream" madness, yourself! Celebrate June 20 as World Vegan Day with a salad picked from fresh produce purchased at the Havre de Grace Saturday Farmers Market, from 9 a.m. to noon.

Verna Day-Jones, who boasted the title of Ms. Senior Maryland last year, arrived with a rhinestone tiara atop her silver locks, walking in gold embroidered slippers with the help of a cane. Recent hip-replacement surgery didn't stop the Northwest Baltimore resident - an actress and retired Social Security Administration employee who didn't come out to play a beauty queen yesterday. Instead, she transformed herself into a compelling Harriet Tubman for the Juneteenth Commemoration, in its fourth year at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine.

Events June 3 "The Oracle" -- Family-friendly theatrical show with life-sized pup pets about an African princess, by the African Continuum Theatre, at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, Sprenger Theatre, 1333 H St. N.E., Washington. $17-$37. 202-399-7993. Capital Jazz Fest -- Perform ances by Ramsey Lewis, Isaac Hayes, Najee, Take 6, Ledisi, the Brand New Heavies, featuring N'dea Davenport, the original Blackbyrds with Kevin Toney and others, beginning at noon at Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia.

In a preliminary September 1862 proclamation, President Abraham Lincoln announced his intention to free all slaves in states that were in rebellion against the Union. The historic action taken by Lincoln signaled to the world that the Civil War was about more than simply preserving the Union. It was also about ending the cruelty of slavery. Lincoln's proclamation stated in part: "That on the 1st day of January, A.D. 1863, all persons held as slaves within in any State or designated part of a State the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, thence forward, and forever free."

Celebrate African-American freedom with a gospel concert at the Banneker-Douglass Museum of African-American History & Culture.Sunday.Choirs from Mount Moriah United Methodist and St. Phillip's Episcopal churches in Annapolis and Fuller and Friends ensemble from Baltimore will perform at the museum's Juneteenth celebration.Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day Texas received official notice of the Emancipation Proclamation, the last state to do so; Texas slaves on that date learned they had been freed two years earlier.

With a basketball jersey draped loosely on his shoulders and barbecue smoke thick in the air, 10-year-old Gavin Queenan sat on a park bench and explained why he was celebrating Juneteenth, a 138-year-old commemoration of the ending of slavery in America. "When they had water fountains that we couldn't go to and the white people could -- that's not fair," he said Saturday. "Now everything is changed and we have a better life." Gavin, from Norristown, Pa., said he attended the two-day festival in Carroll Park -- a celebration of God, family, music and food -- to think about his ancestors "and learn how they lived."

Celebrate Juneteenth, the date commemorating the end of slavery after the Civil War, this weekend at various events in the area. Juneteenth, the oldest black holiday, is marked each year on or around June 19 with celebrations, picnics, family gatherings, music and more. On June 19, 1865, slaves in Galveston, Texas, were finally notified of the Emancipation Proclamation. This date was a full 2 1/2 years after the proclamation took effect. So June 19 - Juneteenth - became the day recognized as African-American Emancipation Day. Here are a few of the Juneteenth events taking place throughout the area: The 140th Juneteenth Commemoration, the statewide salute, will take place 2 p.m.-3 p.m. Sunday at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, Fort Avenue.

The entertainment was plentiful: singing, dancing, karate demonstrations and face-painting for kids. Vendors sold African art. Health-care information was distributed. Jerk chicken and fried plantains were sold. About the only thing missing from yesterday's Juneteenth Jubilee celebration at Morgan State University was the large crowd that director Morning Sunday had hoped for. "We would have been outside had it not rained," Sunday said, sitting inside Morgan's gymnasium. "We were supposed to be on the quad in a tent."

WASHINGTON - Juneteenth is busting out all over. Celebrated in Texas for more than a century, June 19 is gaining global significance as independence day for African-Americans. It's now an official holiday in seven other states from Florida to Idaho. The holiday is not official in Maryland. More than 300 communities nationwide have Juneteenth celebrations scheduled today. In Washington, there will be gospel and jazz concerts and a rally at the Capitol. In Atlanta, there will be a barbecue on Auburn Avenue, the famed boulevard of the civil rights movement.

Verna Day-Jones, who boasted the title of Ms. Senior Maryland last year, arrived with a rhinestone tiara atop her silver locks, walking in gold embroidered slippers with the help of a cane. Recent hip-replacement surgery didn't stop the Northwest Baltimore resident - an actress and retired Social Security Administration employee who didn't come out to play a beauty queen yesterday. Instead, she transformed herself into a compelling Harriet Tubman for the Juneteenth Commemoration, in its fourth year at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine.

Circus Acrobats, aerialists and clowns The circus with soul - UniverSoul Circus - is coming to town. The 75-member urban-styled circus, which was started by Baltimore native Cedric Walker in 1994, is coming to the Security Square Mall on Tuesday through June 25. New ringmaster and popular comedian Tony Tone will be joined by Ringmaster's Sidekick Zeke, ice skaters, limbo dancers, acrobats, aerialists, clowns, jugglers, elephants, lions and other performers...

Celebrate Juneteenth, the date commemorating the end of slavery after the Civil War, this weekend at various events in the area. Juneteenth, the oldest black holiday, is marked each year on or around June 19 with celebrations, picnics, family gatherings, music and more. On June 19, 1865, slaves in Galveston, Texas, were finally notified of the Emancipation Proclamation. This date was a full 2 1/2 years after the proclamation took effect. So June 19 - Juneteenth - became the day recognized as African-American Emancipation Day. Here are a few of the Juneteenth events taking place throughout the area: The 140th Juneteenth Commemoration, the statewide salute, will take place 2 p.m.-3 p.m. Sunday at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, Fort Avenue.

EASTON - A free black man sat on the steps of the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church and wondered aloud whether his brother had been taken into bondage. Nearby, Harriet Tubman carried a 4-foot-long rifle. This scene from the days of slavery was performed yesterday by re-enactors who took part in Easton's first Juneteenth celebration. Easton has joined a number of communities that commemorate Juneteenth, a celebration marking the end of slavery. Easton was chosen as the site for the festival because it's near the birthplace of Frederick Douglass, one of the best-known leaders of the abolitionist movement.

In a preliminary September 1862 proclamation, President Abraham Lincoln announced his intention to free all slaves in states that were in rebellion against the Union. The historic action taken by Lincoln signaled to the world that the Civil War was about more than simply preserving the Union. It was also about ending the cruelty of slavery. Lincoln's proclamation stated in part: "That on the 1st day of January, A.D. 1863, all persons held as slaves within in any State or designated part of a State the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, thence forward, and forever free."

With a basketball jersey draped loosely on his shoulders and barbecue smoke thick in the air, 10-year-old Gavin Queenan sat on a park bench and explained why he was celebrating Juneteenth, a 138-year-old commemoration of the ending of slavery in America. "When they had water fountains that we couldn't go to and the white people could -- that's not fair," he said Saturday. "Now everything is changed and we have a better life." Gavin, from Norristown, Pa., said he attended the two-day festival in Carroll Park -- a celebration of God, family, music and food -- to think about his ancestors "and learn how they lived."

Last year, Sharon Pinchback didn't know the story behind "Juneteenth" -- the day in 1865 when a Union general arrived in Texas with news of the Emancipation Proclamation. Now, she is a spokeswoman for the celebration. She brought her message yesterday to a Senate committee in Annapolis considering a bill to make Juneteenth a state holiday. "It would be a holiday that relates specifically to me -- one that says there was an atrocity done to me, but I am free of that now," Pinchback said.

Growing up in the Baltimore area in the 1960s, slavery was a word that conjured such feelings of disgust and anger, it was never uttered in the home of Morning Sunday Hettleman. So Hettleman felt surprise when she first heard about Juneteenth, an annual June event that doesn't just acknowledge slavery but celebrates the freeing of the last slaves in America in 1865. Learning about Juneteenth in 1988 turned Hettleman's silence into pride in her ancestors' fight for freedom, and she began organizing celebrations in Baltimore a year later.

Juneteenth events The freeing of slaves during the Civil War was a momentous event, one marked each year as Juneteenth. This, the oldest African-American holiday, offers an opportunity for all Americans to gain a better understanding of the past. An array of Juneteenth celebrations are taking place throughout the area. Here are just a few: A Juneteenth lecture with Mount St. Mary's College historian Steve Whitman takes place at 7:30 p.m. today at the Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave. Whitman is author of the book Challenging Slavery in the Chesapeake and the coming The Price of Freedom: Slavery and Manumission in Baltimore and Early National Maryland.

WASHINGTON - Juneteenth is busting out all over. Celebrated in Texas for more than a century, June 19 is gaining global significance as independence day for African-Americans. It's now an official holiday in seven other states from Florida to Idaho. The holiday is not official in Maryland. More than 300 communities nationwide have Juneteenth celebrations scheduled today. In Washington, there will be gospel and jazz concerts and a rally at the Capitol. In Atlanta, there will be a barbecue on Auburn Avenue, the famed boulevard of the civil rights movement.