AUGUSTA, Ga. () – The 4th annual Juneteenth Celebration Parade is happening on June 21st, at 11:00 a.m.

Organizers are excited for people in the community to come out to the parade, and there’s also activities happening afterwards.

The Juneteenth Parade route will start at the James Brown Arena parking lot and proceed to Greene St. where it will turn left. Then right on to 10th St. and right on to Reynolds St. Finally the parade will turn right on 7th St., heading back to the James Brown Arena.

After the parade there will be a Juneteenth Freedom Trail Ride at 2 p.m., at 4275 Old Waynesboro Road, Hephzibah, GA 30815.

The organizers are still looking for people to participate in the parade so, we sat down with them to find out more about the event.

What is this event all about?

“Juneteenth is a time for us to celebrate the end of slavery, and we celebrate in multiple ways. We do festivals, we do religious services, family gatherings, we do parades, and we’re doing a Juneteenth parade on June 21st and it’s going to be in the downtown area. Following the parade we’ll have a trail ride,” said Event Organizer Morris Porter.

Why was it important to have the trail ride as well?

“I got the opportunity from Morris, he gave me a call, and he said ‘hey, I know you do trail rides and got this great property, how would you feel about doing one for Juneteenth?’ I said ‘I’d love to do that, something that big in the community.’ As soon as he told me, I was on board,” said Organizer, Davon Wallace

Talk to me more about this trail ride.

“We got to have ATV’s, because we already have the ATV park out there, we got to have the cowboys come out, we needed music, so we got some DJ’s, talked to some of the local steppers so they can get out and do their steps. Everyone will go out, we’ll get on the trail together, ATV’s and t he cowboys. After that we’ll have plenty of entertainment, we have some people coming out to perform, we have some spoken word, we have plenty of things to do for the kids, we’re going to have plenty of food out there. We’ll have so many vendors, and we’re going to have vendors of all types, and just food, clothing too. We’re going to try and do a cookoff,” said Wallace.

Why should people come out and support this event?

“It’s celebrating freedom for all people, that’s the first thing and it’s an opportunity for the community to come out, and learn more about the holiday, and just come together as one. What we’re looking for is we want families to participate in this parade, we want organizations, we want the churches, we want everyone to come out and be a part of the celebration of this historical day,” said Porter.

If people are trying to get involved, what should they do?

“They can go by Laney Museum and pick up an application or they can contact me via email, text message, or social media. Just shoot me your email address and I’ll send you an application,” said Porter.

If you’re interested in participating in the Juneteenth Parade you can reach out to Morris Porter on social media, or head over to the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History for an application.