GREATER BOSTON | NORTH OF BOSTON | SOUTH OF BOSTON | CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS | WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. We recognize Juneteenth each year on June 19, but you can find commemorations and celebrations in Massachusetts all June long. From concerts to lectures and tours and everything in between, find out what Massachusetts is doing for Juneteenth below.
Are we missing an event? Let us know!
The Newton Juneteenth celebration returns this Saturday, June 15th at the Hyde Community Center (90 Lincoln Street, Newton).
This fun family event celebrates the national Juneteenth holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved Americans. Bring your kids and parents to celebrate African-American heritage and culture through food, music, dance, and story-telling for a fantastic afternoon of fun!
The Myrtle Baptist Church Choir will take center stage for a headline performance. This year, we are featuring this historic choir to honor their 150-year anniversary! Listen to their amazing sound here.
June 15, 12 – 4 p.m.
Hyde Community Center, 90 Lincoln Street, Newton
Join us for a free concert in celebration of Juneteenth!
Landmarks Orchestra, in collaboration with Castle of Our Skins, is starting the 2024 summer season with a performance at the Kroc Center! Featuring works from Florence Price, William Grant Still, Jessie Montgomery and more, this concert will be a wonderful way to celebrate the works of iconic Black composers. Featuring Castle of Our Skins String Quartet and soprano Brianna J. Robinson!
June 15, 4 p.m.
The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center, Boston
Juneteenth Celebration at Franklin Park
Join us on Saturday, June 15th, 2024 for a Juneteenth Celebration at Franklin Park! Enjoy picnics, barbecues, music, dancing and more at the Shattuck Picnic Grove and all over the park.
June 15, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Franklin Park, Shattuck Picnic Grove, Boston
Juneteenth Community Day Celebration
Join us for a captivating Juneteenth Community Day themed “Freedom, Movement, and Migration” on June 15, 2024! This special day is designed to engage people of all ages in a meaningful celebration of freedom and cultural evolution, commemorating Juneteenth’s significance in the journey toward equality and recognition in American history.
June 15, 11 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Museum of African American History, Boston
Juneteenth at the Boston Harbor Islands
Join us to commemorate Juneteenth and learn more about Black history in Boston. Visit Georges Island & the Boston Harbor Islands Welcome Center for live music, story time, history tours, and an exploration of Black History in Boston.
June 19, 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Boston Harbor Islands Welcome Center & Georges Island
Juneteenth at the MFA: Open House
In honor of Juneteenth, the oldest nationally observed commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States, admission to the MFA—including access to “Hallyu! The Korean Wave”—is free for all Massachusetts residents on Wednesday, June 19, 2024.
Join us for performances, participate in art-making activities, catch a talk, and see “Hallyu!,” a new exhibition highlighting South Korea’s meteoric rise as a cultural trendsetter on the global stage.
June 19
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston
Beacon Hill: Juneteenth Tour on the Underground Railroad
New visitors and seasoned locals alike will enjoy this unique opportunity to explore the incredible and captivating stories of one of Boston’s many historic neighborhoods. This 2.5 hour walking tour will explore hidden history and Underground Railroad sites along the Black Heritage Trail, beginning at 10:30am on Wednesday, June 19. The spectacular guide team at Hub Town Tours will share eye-opening tales from America’s “Second Revolution,” delving deeply into the tumultuous years of the abolitionist era before the outbreak of the U.S. Civil War.
June 19, 10:30 a.m.
Beacon Hill, Boston
Celebrate Juneteenth with Crys Matthews
Already being hailed as “the next Woody Guthrie,” Nashville resident Crys Matthews is among the brightest stars of the new generation of social justice music-makers. She is made for these times and, with the release of her new, hope-fueled, love-filled social justice album, Changemakers, Matthews hopes to take her place alongside some of her heroes in the world of social-justice music like Sweet Honey in the Rock and Holly Near.
June 16, 3 – 4 p.m.
Belleville Congregational Church, 300 High Street, Newburyport
Mayor Dominick Pangallo invites community members to attend the City of Salem’s Juneteenth Jam at Riley Plaza on June 18, starting at 12 noon. In collaboration with the North Shore Juneteenth Association, this program is made possible by a grant from Mass Humanities, which provided funding through the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
June 18
Salem
Join us for a celebratory Juneteenth performance with Benkadi Drum and Dance Company. With vivid costumes and uplifting energy, the multicultural company performs traditional West African rhythm and movements with singing, drumming, and dancing. Participate in the dancing and learn West African traditions.
This program is free and open to the public. We kindly request that you register in advance with the form below, as participation is limited.
June 19
Concord Museum, Concord
Juneteenth Celebration w/ North Shore Juneteenth
Join us on Saturday, June 22nd, 2024 at 11:00 AM for a day filled with joy, music, and community.
Come to Lynn Museum at 590 Washington St. and celebrate this important day in American history with us. Let’s honor and remember Black Americans’ emancipation, strength, and pride. This is a family-friendly event.
June 22, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Lynn Museum, 590 Washington St., Lynn
2024 Speaker Series: Juneteenth Lecture-Rev. Dr. Robert Gomes
Active in the 1970s effort to preserve the Parting Ways site, Rev. Dr. Robert Gomes shares personal experiences of a community’s rediscovery of this historic African-American community, established in the wake of the American Revolution, and considers the legacy it continues to inspire.
June 19, 6 – 8 p.m.
Pilgrim Hall Museum, 75 Court Street, Plymouth
The Natick Historical Society and Natick for Black Lives Matter will host a reading of Frederick Douglass’s “What to a Slave is the 4th of July” at 11:00 am on the steps of the Morse Institute Library. The celebration continues with the Natick Center Cultural District’s Juneteenth event on the Natick Common from 1:00 – 4:00 pm. The event will include speakers with performances, activities, and food. ASL Interpreting Services will be available during the event.
June 19, 1 – 4 p.m.
Natick Center Cultural District
Events will take place all over the Town of Amherst including: West Cemetery, The Amherst Women’s Club, The Dickinson Homestead, The Town Common, and the Bangs Community Center.
More details to follow. Save the date for this exciting cultural gathering and sharing.
June 15, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Old Sturbridge Village, Juneteenth
On June 19, 2024, we will commemorate and explore the history, resilience, and culture of Black people in America. We encourage visitors to consider the historical and present-day significance of Juneteenth through interactions with guest speakers and performers as well as Old Sturbridge Village’s costumed educators. Engage in discussions and ask yourself “what can I do to further educate myself?” about the past and how it informs the present day. We will also welcome several special guests!
June 19, 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Old Sturbridge Village, 1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, Sturbridge
Greenfield’s 3rd Annual Juneteenth Celebration. Parade Line Up 10:15am at City Hall. Parade starts at 11am.. Featuring DJ Steve Austin
June 19, 12 – 5 p.m.
Beacon Field, Greenfield
Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Juneteenth
Join us as we celebrate unity, freedom, and the power of music this Juneteenth at Symphony Hall! We’ll have a pre-concert flag-raising, a free concert featuring the premiere of Avery Sharpe’s 400 Project with the Extended Family Choir and the SSO Chorus and the return of conductor Kevin Scott.
Experience the joy of music as it unites us all in commemorating this significant day in history.
Symphony Hall, 34 Court Street, Springfield
June 19, 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
An Evening with Congresswoman Nikema Williams
Join The Du Bois Freedom Center on June 19th at 6:00pm for our first conversation in our Reflections on Democracy series. In recognition of Juneteenth, our Visiting Scholar Michael Blake and United States Congresswoman Nikema Williams, will discuss how we can all “Walk in the interconnected footsteps of Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois and Congressman John Lewis” as well as the importance of civic leadership at this time in our democracy.
June 19, 6 p.m.
The Du Bois Freedom Center, Great Barrington
Historic Deerfield, Juneteenth
Join us for an evening of music in observance of the Juneteenth holiday, emceed by Tim Eriksen.
June 20, 7 – 8 p.m.
Historic Deerfield, 84B Old Main Street, Deerfield
Jubilee! A Juneteenth Concert of Early New England Music
An all-star ensemble of early American music performers present a concert featuring lively Abolitionist psalmody, spirituals, dance tunes, and chamber music from the repertoire of regional African American composers and band leaders. This includes Greenfield’s own John Putnam, “the father of contradance music,” and selections from a newly discovered manuscript of music by early Connecticut composer and fiddler Sawney Freeman. The ensemble will perform on period New England instruments and be joined by local “shapenote” singers, led by Historic Deerfield musician in residence Tim Eriksen.
Historic Deerfield, 16 Memorial Street, Deerfield
June 20, 7 – 9 p.m.