Before the event, a Global Education Peace Walk will occur, with participants meeting at Springfield City Hall Plaza at 9:30 a.m. and then walking to the Gammon House, where the festivities will begin at 11 a.m. and run until 7 p.m.
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Juneteenth marks the date when the Union Army arrived 150 years ago on the harbor pier in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865 to read the Emancipation Proclamation, which had been signed by President Abraham Lincoln more than two years earlier. The date celebrates the freeing of the last of the slaves in the South.
The celebration, which is free except for food vendors, will feature events such as an arts tent with local authors, artists from the Springfield Museum of Art, health screenings provided by Clark County Combined Health District, amusement rides, games and historic activities.
An entertainment stage will feature the Thiossane West African Dance Institute of Columbus, Murdock Trio, the LA Band, the Promise Zone Crew and others.
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The Juneteenth Celebration has been going on in Springfield for about 12 years and the FatherFest is entering its second.
“We had two great events happening on the same day,” said Eli Williams, the director of FatherFest. “It made sense to bring the two together and that made each event better.”
The event will also include a resource tent with more than a dozen agencies that will provide activities for families, along with information about how to strengthen families in a way that are father inclusive. Also, the first 100 dads will receive a pre-Father’s Day gift provided by Jeff Wyler Chevrolet Springfield.
New to the celebration this year are a sweet potato pie competition that will begin at 1 p.m. and the George Gammon Fatherhood Award.
“This is a great chance for the community to come together and families to celebrate fathers and to honor them, and at the same time learn about a great father, George Gammon,” Williams said.
Betty Grimes, chairwoman of the Gammon House Committee, said it was fitting that the new award this year was named after George Gammon because he was a father of six and a great role-model.
Tours of the new interior renovations of the Gammon House will be offered during the event. The Gammon House was a stop on the Underground Railroad.
“We really have a gem,” Grimes said. “In a lot of places the stations have been torn down. George and Sarah Gammon were free people of color and means who took time to be active in the Underground Railroad movement.”
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