The Seattle Central Area Chamber of Commerce held its annual, three-day Juneteenth Freedom Festival & Parade in Pratt Park over a sun-filled Father's Day weekend. Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom that originated in Galveston, Texas, in 1865 to commemorate the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in the Lone Star State.
Texas was the last state to free enslaved African Americans, and the subsequent celebration is the oldest national commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.
With the temperature peaking at 76 degrees during the Father's Day Juneteenth parade, cooling off became a priority for children. The event included live music and dance performances, food, community information booths and, of course, the parade on Sunday.
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