Daniel Prince
Farmers market opening, LW Long Community Resource Center fundraiser among the day's events
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 1-2, 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. The 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.
The L.W. Long Community Resource Center will host a fundraiser to preserve the historic Union Community Hospital. There will be a DJ with live music, Tipsy Running will be on hand with beverages, and 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.
If you are a service organization, retail vendor, nonprofit organization, or entertainer and would like to participate, the cost is $30. You are asked to bring your own table, tent, and chairs. Setup will be between 9 a.m. and noon. Registration closes on June 15. If you are a Main Street business and can commit to being open between noon and 5 p.m., contact UCCRP intern Caden Jackson to be included in the Main Street brick and mortar vendor village for free. Merchants will receive a flyer to advertise in their storefront window and social media recognition.
For more information or to register as a vendor, search for UCCRP Juneteenth on Eventbrite.com.