Daniel Prince
Celebration starts with the season opening of the Union County Farm and Craft Market
The Union County Community Remembrance Project is again hosting a Juneteenth Remembrance and Celebration this year. It will be held on Saturday, June 18, on Main Street. While the official celebration runs from 1-5 p.m., the day starts even earlier with the official opening for the season of the Union County Farm and Craft Market from 8-noon. The market is located in front of the YMCA on Lakeside Drive facing Main Street. From 1-5, the activities shift downtown, with events going on at the L.W. Long Community Resource Center and the vendor villages set up on Main Street from South Enterprise Street to South Pinckney Street.
From 1-1:30, the Union County Community Remembrance Project will hold a program at the L.W. Long Community Resource Center, featuring a descendants’ circle, video montage, and rededication of the historical markers honoring the victims of lynching in Union County. From 1:30-2, there will be a special presentation to the L.W. Long Community Resource Center Board for the Union Community Hospital preservation. From 2-5, the celebration extends down Main Street. Vendors will be set up along Main Street in villages according to topic, such as food, health, housing, education, employment, economic development, and life skills. Several Main Street Merchants have committed to being open during the time of the festival, as well. There will be a Kids Zone with a bouncy house hosted by Pass the Torch and UUCAA. Marcus Foster, Jr., who designed the logo for this year’s celebration, will host a live art demonstration, and kids and parents can paint their own community canvas at The Depot on Main Street. There will also be an art silent auction to benefit young upcoming artists. DJ KingzKid will be on hand, and there will be a games room in the 2nd floor of the LW Long Community Resource Center.
The L.W. Long Community Resource Center will host a fundraiser throughout the afternoon to preserve the historic Union Community Hospital, which served the black community for over 40 years. There will be entertainment by DJ Troop. TJ Jeter will give a live performance. Tipsy Running will be on hand with beverages. County Council District 5 candidate Carolyn Rutherford will be on hand. An open car show will be held, with prizes for best in show, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places, and the L.W. Long Pick. Entry fee is $20. Contact Manning “Truck” Jeter for early registration at 466-5241. They will also hold a $5 raffle for a 56” flat screen TV.
Vendors are asked to bring your own tables, tents with weights, chairs, and generators or other power source. They recommend you bring a trash bag for your tent area and to assist with cleanup from 5-6 after the event.
Last year’s event drew a crowd of between 400-500 people, and organizers hope for the same or better attendance this year.