Juneteenth is coming back to Jonesboro in 2023! Mark your calendar for KLEK’s award-winning Juneteenth in Jonesboro, which this year will be from June 15-19. 2023 will mark the 6th year KLEK has brought this celebration of Freedom to the city. This year’s theme is “Honoring the Past; Building on the Promise of Freedom”.

Returning Old Hits

We are planning on bringing back many of the same events we had last year. Thursday, June 15 will be the Kickoff Celebration which will double as the Black Business Popup Shop. The Community Worship Service is scheduled for Friday, June 16.

June 17 will be packed with activities. On Saturday, we will start the day by bringing back the Juneteenth in Jonesboro parade through Historic Downtown starting at another historic landmark, the E. Boone Watson Community Center. The parade will lead into the annual Community Fair, which will be capped off with the return of the Juneteenth Fireworks Display in North Jonesboro.

On June 18, we’ll all take a break to celebrate Father’s Day with our respective families. Then on Juneteenth, Monday, June 19, we’ll end the celebration with a proclamation of the holiday at KLEK Studios.

Early Bird Registration & Sponsorships Now Open

All of the events are free, and we hope to keep everything free! It’s made free thanks to many businesses and organizations willing to sponsor the event. Right now, we have opened opportunities for businesses and organizations to continue to help us keep Juneteenth in Jonesboro free.

Early bird registration is open for those who want to participate in the Popup Shop, set up a booth or food truck/kiosk at the Community Fair, and for the parade. Early bird registration will last until Feb. 7 before the fees increase. We also have sponsorship opportunities for the fireworks, hydration station, the food zone, the parade grandstand, and so much more.

As a reminder, since KLEK’s licensee, The Voice of Arkansas Minority Advocacy Council, is a 501(c)(3), your contributions are tax deductible. Sign up for an event or sponsorship, and more details about the celebration are available on our Juneteenth in Jonesboro page which is live now. The absolute final day to reserve your spot is June 2.

About KLEK’s Juneteenth in Jonesboro Celebration

KLEK began celebrating Juneteenth in Jonesboro the Saturday before the unofficial holiday on June 16, 2017, at University Heights Lions Club Park.  KLEK has held it every year since then to commemorate Juneteenth, celebrating the final day African Americans were enslaved thanks to President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. 

However, it wasn’t until June 19, 1865, that Union Soldiers landed at Galveston, TX with the news of the enslaved people’s freedom and end of the Civil War.  In 2021, President Joe Biden signed legislation officially making Juneteenth a federal holiday to commemorate the occasion and to celebrate freedom for all Americans.