Juneteenth is tomorrow (Thursday), marking the 160th anniversary of the day Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation in the state.
While some festivities took place last weekend, including Vienna’s Liberty Amendments Month kick-off and Fairfax City’s celebration, Fairfax County will still play host to a number of events commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S. and showcasing the historical and cultural contributions of African Americans.
As an aside, with Juneteenth recognized as a state and federal holiday, FFXnow will take a break from publishing tomorrow. Barring breaking news, we will return to our regular schedule on Friday (June 20).
Juneteenth Celebration at Sully Historic Site
Thursday, June 19, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Sully Historic Site (3650 Historic Sully Way, Chantilly)
The Fairfax County Park Authority will offer a day of storytelling, music, children’s activities and guided tours through the former plantation’s original outbuildings and main house. The free event will also have quilt exhibits, a free health clinic, interpretive displays and food trucks.
Freedom Before Emancipation: Family Day for Juneteenth
Thursday, June 19 through Saturday, June 21, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
George Washington’s Mount Vernon (3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway)
George Washington’s Mount Vernon will highlight the legacies of Ona Judge, Peter Hardiman, Hercules Posey and other enslaved residents of the estate who resisted slavery. In addition to learning about history at a “family hub” on the Bowling Green, visitors can enjoy music, take a specialty tour, join a commemoration ceremony and check out blacksmith, cooking and spinning demonstrations.
All events are covered by the standard admission fee, which is $28 for everyone 12 and older and $15 for kids aged 6 to 11. Everyone 5 and younger can get in for free.
The Pack Drumline
Thursday, June 19, 7 p.m.
McLean Central Park (1468 Dolley Madison Blvd, McLean)
Though McLean Community Center is closed for the holiday, The Alden will kick off its annual free summer concert series with a performance by the Pack Drumline, a band that combines percussion and dance, and previously appeared on America’s Got Talent and at last year’s Super Bowl.
Previously held on Sundays, the series has moved to Thursdays this year and will use McLean Central Park’s new pavilion. Subsequent performances will include tribute bands dedicated to Elton John, Johnny Cash, Taylor Swift and Prince, with the Virginia Chamber Orchestra Brass Quintet closing out the season on July 31, 7 p.m.
Slice of History: Civics Pizza Party
Friday, June 20, 5:30-8 p.m.
Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House (9000 Richmond Highway, Alexandria)
The historic site will serve pizza alongside self-guided tours that explore Woodlawn’s evolution from a part of George Washington’s plantation to the site of an anti-slavery colony established by Quakers before the Civil War. Visitors can also stop by the new exhibit “Saving Pope-Leighey House: How Marjorie Leighey Rescued Her Frank Lloyd Wright Home.”
Fairfax County NAACP Juneteenth Celebration
Saturday, June 21, 3 p.m.
Bull Run Regional Park (7700 Bull Run Drive, Centreville)
The Fairfax County NAACP and NOVA Parks will again host their fourth annual Juneteenth celebration at the former Harris Family Cemetery, where more than 90 descendants of formerly enslaved people were found buried in 2022.
Interpretive signage at the park now illuminates the story of Robert Carter III, who once owned the land, built a racially integrated church and freed 500 enslaved people in the 1790s. His work helped establish “a thriving Freedmen’s community at Bull Run 70 years before the Civil War,” according to NOVA Parks.
The celebration will include remarks from notable officials, including a representative of the Harris family, as well as a procession led by the Girl Scouts of the Nation’s Capital, musical performances and an ice cream social.
Exploring Our Historic Meeting House and Grounds
Saturday, June 21, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Frying Pan Farm Park (2709 West Ox Road, Herndon)
Learn about the history of the Frying Pan Baptist Meeting House, which is one of Fairfax County’s oldest religious structures and served both enslaved and free Black congregants. Staff and volunteers will provide informal tours of the church, its surrounding grounds and the former site of the Lee house, where an African American family lived after the Civil War.
African American Life in Early Herndon
Saturday, June 21, 2 p.m.
Arts Herndon (750 Center Street)
Barbara Glakas, an author and historian with the Herndon Historical Society, will give a presentation accompanied by “unique photographs” about the lives of free and enslaved African Americans in early Herndon. The event is free.
