Festivities in Penn Park mark Juneteenth Day

As Penn Park fills with tents, balloons and food stands on Saturday, crowds from the south side of Madison slowly populate the grassy fields to celebrate Juneteenth Day.

Juneteenth Day is a celebration of the emancipation of African Americans following the Civil War, but it is also a celebration of community, friendship and diversity.

Lt. David Jugovich and a group of officers from the Madison Police Department help with the logistics of the event, diverting traffic during the event's parade, for example, and are glad to partner with the Juneteenth Committee in order to make the celebration possible.

“It's a great family-oriented event, and there's a lot of activity for kids,” Jugovich said. “The event itself does a wonderful job of celebrating African-American heritage, so I think it's just an all-around tremendous success.”

Dozens of local businesses, non-profits, artists and volunteers come together for the festival each year, and after 23 years, the celebration has become a hallmark event each spring.

Groups like the Wolf Pack Motorcycle Club have worked hard to become integral members of the community, and are proud to be involved in the Juneteenth Day celebrations each year.

Baraka African Attire puts on a fashion show, while local churches and non-profits cook up a mouthwatering array of grilled, fried and barbecued foods.

Other groups like UW-Madison's First Wave and End Times Ministries International perform in dance and spoken word.

The Neighborhood Intervention Program organizes a series of basketball tournaments that highlight the program's after-school sports and its work in the community that center around helping low-income families find a source of stability.

Stephen Blue, a volunteer involved in the program, enjoys the opportunity to share the group's message and their efforts with people at Penn Park each year.

“I think that as our community continues to change in terms of diversity, some challenges have emerged in terms of economics. Everybody's very aware of the achievement gap,” Blue says. “This is really one of the activities that can be a touchstone for kids in terms of moving them in a positive direction.”

Blue believes that the after-school basketball programs help kids develop in many areas of life.

“I think on the surface, folks would see basketball, but there's a lot more to it than that,” Blue says. “The real key is learning success skills that you can transfer in life. Not every kid is going to be a basketball player, but the things that we like are the things they learn from basketball that they can apply to their life.”

Richard Brown, a local volunteer, believes that the event plays a powerful role in the community, bringing people together and combatting the instability and economic hardships that South Side neighborhoods often confront.

“People know that there's somewhere you can come where it's safe, and you can have good safe family fun and not have an issue.”

Brown volunteers each year during the celebration, and has worked in the community, as well as on the Dane County Board, for many years. He's seen the neighborhood develop and progress, and is happy with the impact of festivals like Juneteenth Day.

“This brings the best out of people,” Brown says. “At times there used to be craziness, but I think that the community has really just come together. People have grown. And I think it's events like this that make people grow, that make people do better.”