Santa Cruz's joyous Juneteenth celebration stays true to its roots amid national unrest

Quick Take

Santa Cruz's historic Juneteenth celebration maintained its cultural focus while thousands join nationwide protests against President Trump's military parade.

Santa Cruz celebrated its 34th annual Juneteenth festival on Saturday. The long-running celebration, one of California’s oldest Juneteenth events, took place at Laurel Park next to to the London Nelson Community Center.

The festivities began with a New Orleans-style line parade led by Grand Marshal Don Williams, a longtime UC Santa Cruz theater director. The Second Line Sidewalk Parade started at the Black Lives Matter mural in front of city hall and made its way down Pacific Avenue to Laurel Park, where participants created a Dia de Los Muertos-style ancestors altar.

Under this year’s theme of “body, mind and soul,” the free celebration ran from noon to 5 p.m., featuring live performances from local musicians, including Samba Ngo and Mandjou Koné. Maiya Evans served as the event’s emcee.

The Santa Cruz Juneteenth celebration, which predates the holiday’s federal recognition, commemorates the date when enslaved African Americans in Texas first learned of the Emancipation Proclamation and slavery’s end following the Civil War. The event coincided with nationwide “No Kings” protests against President Trump.