Juneteenth was last Monday, and Augusta celebrations culminated in the seventh annual Juneteenth festival, organized by Band of Brothers, at the Augusta Common.
Intermittent rain didn’t damper last week’s festivities, as crowds of families, artists and vendors still gathered at the Common grounds from noon till evening. But the inclement weather led Band of Brothers to postpone many of the scheduled performances, including Atlanta hip-hop group Goodie Mob (which includes Paine College’s artist-in-resident, Grammy-winner CeeLo Green).
Monday, June 26 proved a hardy make-up day, as Juneteenth Augusta picked up where it left off, this time starting at 5 p.m. and going till 9 p.m.
Singer April Sampé hosted again, quickening the audience before Augusta band Phaze 360 kicked off the live music.
The Juneteenth Augusta festival is the consummation of a seasonal effort on the part of Band of Brothers to observe the Liberation Day.
The community service organization — whose 15 founding members include artist Baruti Tucker, promoter Dorian Harris and poet and performer Travis “Brotha Trav” Wright — began promoting this year’s festival in January, garnering an array of sponsors, from SRP Credit Union, Piedmont Augusta and Stokes Hodges Auto Group to the local internship management tech company Shamrck.
Leading up to last Monday’s festival, the group also hosted other Juneteenth events, such as a Community Cleanup at Dogwood Terrace Apartments on June 13, a health forum on June 15 at Augusta Technical College, in which local healthcare professionals spoke in a panel on wellness issues in the Black community and an art exhibit at Humanitree House on June 16. This year the event also drew 150 vendors.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
