Milwaukee's Juneteenth Day celebration returns for 50th anniversary

By: CBS 58 Newsroom

Posted: May 10, 2021 2:59 PM CDT

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee's Juneteenth Day festival and parade will return this year on Saturday, June 19.

The parade will start at 8 a.m. from 14th and Atkinson and will travel to Burleigh and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

The festival will kick off at 9:30 a.m. with festivities running along MLK Drive between Burleigh and North Avenue until 4 p.m.

There were some Juneteenth Day gatherings last year, but because of the pandemic, the festival was canceled.

Supporters who attend the event in person this year are required to wear a mask and practice social distancing. Volunteers will be handing out free face masks to those who need them.

Juneteenth Day is a celebration of the end of slavery in the United States.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Milwaukee's first Juneteenth Day celebration.