Mercy Health Sponsors Juneteenth Festival

Mercy Health – a Catholic healthcare ministry serving Ohio and Kentucky, invites the community to mark the anniversary of the end of slavery at the 30^th Annual Cincinnati Juneteenth Festival.

Mercy Health is a sponsor of the popular festival, which hopes to attract as many as 5,000 attendees this year. It takes place from noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday, June 17 at Eden Park’s Mirror Lake and Seasongood Pavilion and from 2:30-6:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 18, at Eden Park’s Seasongood Pavilion. Admission is free.

The event features a parade, living history re-enactors, supervised kids’ area with activities, near-continuous performances on two stages, including a special Father’s Day concert on Sunday and great food.

Juneteenth is a nationwide celebration of the end of legal slavery in the United States. It marks the end of the civil war, the first Juneteenth/Freedom celebration, held in Galveston, Texas, and the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery. All of these events took place 150 years ago in 1865.

Cincinnati's annual Juneteenth Festival began in 1988. It's a family-based event featuring a wide variety of entertainment, health and wellness screenings, historical and cultural attractions, organized children's activities and great food.