Kingsport to give away nearly 1,000 books at Juneteenth Festival

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) – The City of Kingsport will host its downtown Juneteenth Festival on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. This year, the Juneteenth committee will give away nearly 1,000 books to the community.

Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. It is recognized on June 19th and became an official federal holiday in 2021. The committee will provide books to nearly 1,000 children and families about the holiday and its significance in Black History.

Kelsie Dulaney, Juneteenth committee chair, told News Channel 11 about the festival’s importance.

“We can’t really understand each other unless we know,” said Dulaney. “And so it’s kind of that saying like, you don’t know what you don’t know. And we feel that as leaders in our community, it’s our job to provide the information and whoever wants to hear it and learn from it is welcome to.”

Dulaney said this year’s festival will include a booth where people can learn about different cultural hairstyles and techniques.

“And I’m really excited about that because I think that’s another piece that people don’t kind of know about,” she said.

The Juneteenth Festival will also feature dancing, a live concert and activities for children from 1 to 5 p.m. Service vendors and food trucks will also be present.

The concert will begin at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

There will also be a Healthy Kingsport 1.9-mile walk starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Those interested will meet at the Kingsport Higher Education Center.

For more information, visit the Juneteenth Festival Facebook page .

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