Cherry Hill Set For Inaugural Juneteenth Celebration

CHERRY HILL, NJ — Cherry Hill will host its inaugural Juneteenth Parade and Festival this year, the first year in which Juneteenth is officially recognized as a state holiday in New Jersey.

The festival will take place at Croft Farm from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 19, township officials announced. It is presented by the Cherry Hill African American Civic Association in conjunction with Cherry Hill Township and Cherry Hill Police Department.

Cherry Hill Mayor Susan Shin Angulo, Haddonfield Mayor Colleen Bianco Bezich and Camden County East Branch of the NAACP President Lloyd Henderson will serve as the parade’s grand marshalls.

Juneteenth is the commemoration of the day, June 19, 1865, that enslaved Americans received word of their freedom on the beach in Galveston, Texas. It is the oldest, continuous celebration of the end of American slavery in the United States.

Its celebration has spread from Texas throughout the United States and the world. In September, Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation designating the third Friday in June a state and public holiday.

Last year, the holiday was put in the public spotlight as people around the nation – including Cherry Hill – demanded social change and police reform in the wake of George Floyd's death. Read more here: Juneteenth March/Protest Focuses On Education In Cherry Hill

The inaugural festival will include:

• more than 25 vendors;
• face painting;
• sack racing;
• DJ DeLocs;
• Cherry Hill East Jazz Band;
• Cecil Leonard Ensemble;
• vocalist Dioana Gayle;
• rapper Deige;
• poet & spoken word artist LOT Da Wordgician;
• hip hop artist Kstaff;
• P.A.C.E. Brass Band;
• Universal African Dance Ensemble;
• Dr. Daisy Century;
• NJ Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club;
• South Jersey Teenshop;
• South Jersey Street Legend Car Club;
• Big Beautiful Women;
• NAACP Youth Council;
• African Stilt Walkers; and
• area churches.

Screenings, information about the COVID-19 vaccine and health resource information will be provided by the Camden County Health Department, Cooper Hospital, Penn Medicine and Virtua.

This year’s Juneteenth Parade and Festival has several sponsors:

• Cherry Hill Education Association (CHEA);
• Haddonfield Education Association (HEA);
• Mall Chevrolet;
• Wawa;
• South Jersey Food Bank;
• Penn Medicine; and
• Horace Mann Education Foundation.