Juneteenth has been a federal holiday for the past few years, the Duluth NAACP has been celebrating it for over half century. The holiday commemorates the end of slavery, but also recognizes the contributions made by the BIPOC community. Although it takes a herculean effort from volunteers and local organizations to bring the Juneteenth Jamboree together.

Classie Dudley, the president of the Duluth NAACP chapter, says the Juneteenth Jamboree is free and open to everyone every year.

“Our heart of our event is our vendors. Getting information out to our people, and of course getting food, feeding people,” Dudley said. ‘So a lot of work just goes into securing our vendors and getting our volunteers to help set up and tear down. We’ve been lucky that we’ve gotten the great donations from the Boreal Community Foundation and a few other great communities that helped with this event.”

There’s still newcomers that check out the Juneteenth celebrations, as it continues to grow every year. Chyloe Smith, a Duluth resident says she never heard of the holiday until showing up for this year’s event.

“There’s been a lot of really helpful, great booths. I’ve had a lot of fun out of them, a lot of good information. The people, the booths and everything, they’ve been really great,” Smith said. “There’s a lot of, and a little bit of everything for everybody. It’s great, sober fun. I really appreciate that.”

You can be part of next year’s Juneteenth Jamboree by becoming a member of the Duluth NAACP. Also for more stories involving Juneteenth you can read more here.