Juneteenth events in Las Vegas

Juneteenth celebrations in the Las Vegas Valley are expected to be a big draw this year, despite the coronavirus pandemic, according to organizers.

Lorenzi Park, 3343 W. Washington Ave., near downtown Las Vegas, and North Las Vegas’ Craig Ranch Regional Park, 628 W. Craig Road., have events scheduled Friday.

Juneteenth celebrates June 19th, 1865, the day Union soldiers rode into Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation, more than two years after it went into effect in January 1863. Slaves in Texas had been free but didn’t know it.

Lorenzi Park

Save Our Sons, a nonprofit that supports at-risk youth, plans an event from 2-7 p.m.

The group’s founder, Curtis Coleman, said it will feature live entertainment, vendors and guest speakers including Clark County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly and Nevada Assemblyman William McCurdy II.

Water games and other activities will be available for children. Face masks will be offered at the event, and all the vendors in the park will be 10 feet apart. There will also be hand-sanitizing stations and four nurses on-site, according to Coleman.

In the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody and the weeks of protests that followed, Coleman said, this Juneteenth celebration will be an opportunity for the community together and “show peace.”

“We hope the community can come out to enjoy themselves, have a great time and celebrate black people, black love and just love as a whole,” he said.

Craig Ranch Regional Park

Dee Evans, president of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, hopes attendees at the event, set for 5-9 p.m., will practice social distancing.

“I’ll be leaving as soon as I can,” Evans said, adding she falls in an age group that is vulnerable to the coronavirus. “Health is more important than anything you can ever have.”

Evans said a Nevada Juneteenth caravan will make its way to the park from downtown Las Vegas. The drive will start at 6 p.m. at the Harrison House, 1001 F St., which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

Motorists will drive on Adams Avenue, then turn north onto H Street, which becomes Revere Street, on their way to the park.

“We’re asking them to join us in the caravan, grab a bottle of water and hot dogs and then go home and be safe,” Evans said. “We want them alive and healthy.”

There will be a DJ, a military tribute and guest speakers at the event, which will wrap up with the crowning of Miss Juneteenth.

This year’s theme is “unity,” Evans said, and she is encouraging attendees to refrain from protesting.

Those planning on attending should wear a mask, maintaining a 6-foot distance from others and be in groups of fewer than 10 people, Evans said.

She asks those who are interested in attending to also sign a petition asking the federal government to make it a national holiday.

So far, that petition has more than 320,000 signatures on change.org.

Contact Alex Chhith at achhith@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0290. Follow @alexchhith on Twitter. Contact Amanda Bradford at abradford@reviewjournal.com. Follow @amandabrad_uc on Twitter.