The 19th annual Juneteenth Bash will be June 21 and June 22 in Spudder Park at Smith and Tulsa streets in Wichita Falls, Crystal LaGale posted on Facebook.
Attendees are invited to bring their lawn chairs, grills, tents, family and friends, LaGale wrote in a Facebook event. The bash will include live performances, vendors, bounce houses, water balloons, a basketball tourney and championship game, dominoes, spades, food and music.
Many government agencies and offices will be closed on Thursday to observe Juneteenth, the formal observance of the end of slavery in the U.S. It is recognized as a federal holiday and a state holiday in Texas.
Families release balloons during a 2024 Juneteenth celebration in Spudder Park in Wichita Falls.
Wichita County offices will be closed on the date, as well as federal and state offices. The city of Wichita Falls does not recognize Juneteenth as a holiday.
The date is significant because June 19, 1865, was the day Union general Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston to tell Texas slaves they had been freed, according to Texas State Historical Association.
The association said Texas became the first state to officially adopt the holiday in 1980. It was recognized as a national holiday in 2021.
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This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Juneteenth: Bash in Spudder Park, holidays for Wichita Falls agencies