Burlington celebrates Juneteenth in City Hall Park

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Juneteenth is on Monday and it’s a day that commemorates the freedom of African Americans in the country. The city of Burlington threw a big event Saturday to celebrate.

This is Burlington’s third year holding its Juneteenth celebration in the heart of the city. Vendors, music and art lined City Hall Park and the bottom of Church Street.

The day was filled with hours of different activities for people to participate in like poetry, community discussions, gospel and food samples from different cultures.

Black artists like Seydee Bien-Aime say they hope to see more cities commemorate Juneteenth the way Burlington does.

“It’s about damn time, type of vibe. So Montreal, where I am from, needs to have something going on like that because I came here for that reason. Montreal is kind of lacking something as important as celebrating Juneteenth in the way that Burlington has. I felt like I needed to come out for that, it’s a beautiful thing,” Bien-Aime said.

Organizers say they hope the event brings more people out every year.