NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — The city of Newport News is gearing up to host a free Juneteenth Freedom Festival.
Performances for the concert, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday, June 21, will include 702, Sammie, Dru Hill, and Jazze Pha. The event will also feature 12 local food trucks, free giveaways, and photo opportunities.
“We wanted to make this a family-friendly festival,” said John Eley III, with the Newport News City Council. “So, we wanted all generations to come out and have a good time. Even my mom was like, ‘I can’t wait to see Sisqó.’ We are excited for this festival. The community is going to be excited. We wanted to come to WAVY-TV 10 and let our friends know that it’s going to be a great festival.”
Najmah Grimes, the special events coordinator with Newport News Parks and Recreation, is the visionary behind the event.
“It was very important because we want to give back to our city,” Grimes said. “Our city, we have a lot of things going on with youth, kids, and the parents… we [said] let’s do something different! Let’s bring them something that they haven’t had before.”
Eley serves on the City Council special events committee. He is hopeful events like this will help with the city’s initiative to address gun violence.
“[Newport News is] trending now over 70% lower crime than we did last year,” Eley said. “But that’s the result of so many activities, working with parks & recreation, keeping our kids off the street, keeping them safe. Initiatives like this… it decreases gun violence, increases community morale! It increases our Mayor’s vision and our city council vision to make Newport News one of the best places to live, play, and work!”
The Freedom Festival will take place at Victory Landing Park on June 21st from 3-8 p.m.
Eley explains in addition to the free event, there will be an opportunity for four dancers from within the community to perform on the stage. Auditions are scheduled for June 4th at 6 p.m at the Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center.
“Sisqó is going to allow four dancers from this community to be able to audition, to perform with them live on stage,” Eley said. “So, we are bringing the community to this event and just giving people an opportunity.”
For more information on the event, click here.
Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.