The 45th annual Juneteenth Heritage Festival was alive and well this year with several events that brought out the crowds. The parade held on Thursday, June 19, was a culmination of the week’s activities and featured a colorful line up of exotic cars from the car show held earlier in the week as well as featured Terry Lilly and Gary Dupree as grand marshals.
Vendors and a Kids’ Zone was set up along Main Street. The parade was followed by a health fair sponsored by the Epsilon Psi Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha.
Other events held earlier in the week included a Community Bible Study which was held Wednesday night at Christ Temple Baptist Church with Pastor Garnett Wagner. The annual Bake Off was held at Lewis Temple C.M.E church and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority held a Line Dance session at City Hall on Monday.
The festival featured a Scholarship Walk at the City Hall and a fishing tournament on Saturday, June 14, at the recently stocked city park pond behind the Grambling Police Department. The Car Show was held in the parking lot of the Whittaker Christian Center located at the corner of Main Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue also on Saturday.
The winners of the Miss Juneteenth pageant were Alaya Nichelle Casson, Little Miss Juneteenth, who attends J S Clark Magnet School in Monroe; Evangeline Sha’Marie Rhodes, Junior Miss Juneteenth who attends Lincoln Preparatory School in Grambling and finally Miss Juneteenth. Aubrey Champion who attends Ruston High School.
“I think all the events were well attended. For many years it seemed as if things were dwindling, but they are much lively this year,” said Jeffery Sims, president of the Greater Grambling Chamber and Juneteenth committee member.
