CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA (June 4, 2025) — The African American Museum of Iowa (AAMI) is hosting its annual Juneteenth Festival at NewBo City Market, 11AM-5PM, Saturday, June 14. The AAMI’s highly-anticipated festival will include live music and performances, local non-profit and business organizations, food and merchandise vendors, and family-friendly activities!
Juneteenth is an annual, nation-wide celebration of the freeing of the last slaves in the United States on June 19, 1865, when news of the Emancipation Proclamation at last reached Confederate Galveston, Texas. Although this celebration has been recognized in some communities for many years, it was only designated as a federal holiday within the last few years.The AAMI’s free annual festival will include live performances by DJ Commando, MC Anthony Betters Jr, Rahlan Kay, and Jaianna Green. Visitors can meet with local businesses and non-profits, and enjoy a bouncy house, lawn games, balloon twisting, a fire truck, McGruff the Crime Dog, and more! New this year: Join us for a coloring contest, a sweet potato pie competition, and a talent show! Sign up for the pie competition and talent show and learn more at blackiowa.org/Juneteenth.
The Juneteenth commemoration will continue on Thursday, June 19. The AAMI galleries will be open for extended hours (4-7PM) and we will also host a screening of Juneteenth: Faith and Freedom at 6:30 PM. This new documentary presented by “Our Daily Bread” showcases the history of Juneteenth, allowing viewers to travel to the church where America’s first Juneteenth celebration took place, and uncover how Christianity could be used both to justify slavery and to inspire the newly-liberated.
The AAMI’s Juneteenth Festival is made possible by Cargill, GreatAmerica, Veridian Credit Union, Big Grove Brewery, Corda Credit Union, Hawkeye Area Labor Council and Local Union Community Charities, Iowa Healthiest State Initiative, ITC, and Nordstrom. Thanks to our media sponsor, The Gazette, and for additional support from, KCRG-TV9 Show You Care, TrueNorth, and Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust.
ABOUT AAMI: The African American Museum of Iowa is a statewide museum dedicated to preserving, exhibiting, and teaching Iowa’s African American history. As Iowa’s leading educational resource on the topic, we educate more than 30,000 people each year through museum tours, traveling exhibits, research services, youth and adult education programs, and community and fundraising events.
