Kansas City Marching Cobras -- Great Tracking Shot

Lafayette County Juneteeth Celebration 2012, June 16, 2012-Freedom for All

The 2012 Lafayette County Juneteenth Celebration will be held on Saturday, June 16, 2012 in Higginsville, MO. There will be an opening parade which will begin in downtown Higginsville, MO.

The Kansas City Cobras will be doing a performance at the park after the parade. David Carr Jr, an accomplished saxophonist, will be performing at the park. There will be speakers, entertainment, educational and historical displays, vendor booths, music, great food and fun for all! A great time for family to get together! Come join us!

THEME: "FREEDOM for All"


The 2012 Committee is as follows:
Eveyln Trigg, Chairman Mary Turner, Assistant Chairperson

Arron B. Haynes, Entertainment and Publicity Ronald Cole, Treasurer

The Cobras will be doing a performance at the park after the parade. David Carr Jr., an accomplished saxophonist, will be performing at the park. There will be speakers, entertainment, educational and historical displays, vendor booths, music, great food and fun for all! A great time for family to get together! Come join us!

For more information, contact Evelyn Trigg at 660-259-3218.

We are on Facebook !: Lafayette County Juneteenth Celebration

Lafayette County Juneteenth Celebration! Saturday, June 18, 2011, Higginsville, MO

News Release
Contact Person: Arron Haynes, (816) 419-3704 or Deborah May (660) 854-2069

The Lafayette County Juneteenth Foundation is really excited about this year's annual Juneteenth Celebration to be held Saturday, June 18th at Fairground Park in Higginsville, MO. It's time for some fun and fellowship so mark your calendar, put it in your blackberry, do whatever you need to do to remind yourself to come and be a part of these festivities.

We plan to put into action this year’s theme of “Strong Communities Working Together”.

The Celebration is free and open to the public.

The celebration will kickoff at 10:00 a.m. at 15th & Main (downtown Higginsville) with a parade being lead by Reverend Wilbur L. Conway, Parade Marshall. Along with local entrants and dignitaries,the K C Marching Wildcats from Kansas City, MO will be performing. The parade will end at Fairground Park, followed by the opening ceremony, held inside Schwitzky 4-H building.

Please don't leave the 4-H building until you've had an opportunity to visit the Exhibitors' booths. Author Joyce Branson , who operates a volunteer service for cancer patients, will be speaking and talking about her book,entitled "The One That Got Away". For those of you who are unemployed, want to improve your job seeking skills or needing a job/career change, Marshon Stephenson Umana, an employment specialist with the Sedalia career Center , will be doing a presentation and is available to answer your questions about job searching.

At 1:00 pm, a panel of youth and young adults, facilitated by Ms. Linda Smith, licensed clinical social worker & counselor, will be discussing topics such as education, relationship, the military, single parenting and employment. Let's fill the audience with young folks, in particular, and adults to have a wonderful dialogue and discussion. Your thoughts and opinions matter.

The DJ, Raymond Nichols, will be turning out smooth tunes throughout the day at the Amphitheater.

Grab a seat on one of the benches, bring your chairs and blankets and make your way to the Amphitheater at 3:00 p.m. to listen to the soulful sounds of Mr. Jerome Johnson. Jerome, a native of Higginsville, is an accomplished vocalist, whose smooth voice can make your body sway and fingers pop or have you lifting up your hands in praise. He is well-known across this area and beyond. Not only has he been an opening performer to national speaker Mark Victor Hanson, author of the Chicken of the Soul book series, to Andre Crouch, seven-time Grammy gospel singer , toured with Oleta Adams but he co-authored "Raising Fathers/Raising Children that was adopted by the State of Georgia for the Georgia Fatherhood Program. He sings R&B and Gospel.

Since Father's Day is June 19th, you may find just the right gift at one of our vendors who will be selling all kinds of products.

Families can make this a day to celebrate together as well as join in having a good time with others that they may not know. Challenge your family member and friends to a game of checkers or dominoes. Who's the best Bid Whiz player? Well cards will also be available. These and more games, for children and adults, will be in the Community Building from 2:30 p.m. to Close.

Arron Haynes is the chairperson of this year’s celebration, assisted by volunteers drawn from the Lafayette County communities of Odessa, Lexington & Higginsville and Clay County (Liberty).

Lafayette County Juneteeth Celebration, Saturday, June 18, 2011

Lafayette County Juneteenth Foundation

Arron Haynes, Chairperson
Deborah May, Assistant Chairperson
Teresa Habernal, Secretary
Ronald Cole, Treasurer
Assistant Chairperson


The 6th annual Juneteenth Celebration will be held on Saturday, June 18 Th at Fairground Park in Higginsville, Mo. This year’s celebration theme is “Strong Communities Working Together”.

Juneteenth or June 19th is considered the date when the last slaves in America were freed. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that they war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. This was two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the Emancipation Proclamation had become official January 1, 1863.(Juneteenth.com).

This celebration is sponsored by the Lafayette County Juneteenth Foundation, whose mission is to develop and implement a one day festival that promotes the celebration of family, celebrates African American freedom and cultivates mutual economic participation countywide with the business community and other not-for-profit entities.

The Celebration will be held from 10:00 a.m. until approximately 6:00 p.m. The parade will start downtown Higginsville and end at the park. If your group is interested in participating in the parade please contact Mrs. Mary Turner, Parade Chairperson, at (816) 263-2294, as soon as possible, for detailed information.

Souvenir booklets will also be sold at the celebration.

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday, June 19th at Fairground Park in Higginsville to help us celebrate JUNETEENTH.

Lafayette County, MO Juneteenth Celebration Saturday, June 19, 2010

The Lafayette County Juneteenth Celebration will be held on Saturday, June 19, 2010. This year’s theme is “Family – Back Again in 2010”. The event will be located at the Fairground Park in Higginsville, MO. The parade starts downtown at 10 am.

Juneteenth or June 19 is most significant because it is a holiday, which is the oldest observance of the end of slavery in this country. Two thousand federal troops led by General Gordon Granger arrived at Galveston, Texas with a document that ordered the end of slavery. This was two and a half years after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.

Mary Turner is the chairperson for the celebration.
The Lafayette County Juneteenth Foundation proudly announces its educational program and exhibits, which will take place in the Edwin Schwitsky 4H building, following the opening ceremony. “We are excited about the speakers and the exhibitors who are volunteering their time to come and be a part of this celebration,” says Teresa Habernal, education coordinator.

During the opening ceremony we’ll be recognizing our Essay contest winner, Kiana Williams, 8 years old, who wrote about “Why I believe my father deserves special recognition”.

12:30 p.m. Donald Jackson, our Guest Speaker, graduate of Lafayette County C-1 High School, will talk on the subject of fatherhood. He retired from the United States Navy in 1980 after serving 22 years and applied the skills and expertise he acquired to land a position with National Steel Ship Building Company. Although being the father of biological, adopted and stepchildren has brought some challenges the lessons he’s learned and blessings he’s received have been invaluable. Now retired and residing in San Diego, CA. he enjoys hunting, fishing, helping family members, friends and giving back to the community,

1:00 p.m. Palmer’s Personal Touch & Fashion, Retail establishment in Marshall, Mo. Will present a fashion show showing the latest summer, casual and formal wear for men and women.
We’re excited about our returning as well as new Exhibitors who will be sharing some unique artifacts and valuable information.

10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (unless otherwise noted)The following persons will have exhibits and information:
Margaret Banty – Black Inventors display. This extensive collection of artifacts is second to none.

Ronald Cole – African American Memorabilia

Virginia Houston- Pennytown display will feature information about a black hamlet that is located 8 miles south of Marshall, MO east of 65 Highway.  Approximately 40 families inhabited this black township. The Pennytown Freewill Baptist Church is the only building that remains. It was listed on the National Historic Register of Historic Places in 1988.

10:00 – 12:30 Lynda Johnson - University of MO Extension- will be bringing information about the University of Missouri Extension’s Small Business and Technology Development Centers FastTrac NewVenture program and other business related programs. If being an entrepreneur is on your mind come and find out about these program.

12:30 – 3:00 Susan Jaster – Innovative Small Farmers’ Outreach Program. Will provide information about how this program can assists small farmers, especially underserved ethnic people, involved in or interested in farming, agricultural entrepreneurship, gardening and gardening for profit.  Our main focus is to help folks better manage their resources, reduce costs, increase income and improve overall well being.  She’ll also be bringing a small worm farm so the children can have fun picking up the red wiggler earthworms. 

Carolyn Boland, RN, with Lafayette County Health Dept. Will do FREE cholesterol and blood sugar screenings to those attending Juneteenth celebration.
Tynisha Gantt, MBA, Epidemiology Specialist, with the Kansas City Health Dept. Will have information on communicable disease prevention and public health preparedness. HIV testing will be available.

Christal Milligan with House of Hope, Inc.

Drew Burkeybile, Admissions Representative & Dual Enrollment Coordinator with Wentworth College, one of the oldest two-year colleges west of the Mississippi. The College offers high school graduates the same courses in liberal arts and science that are available in the leading universities and colleges throughout the United States. Drew would be answering questions and discussing the college application process, available scholarships, etc.

Odessa, Mo Black History display
 

Contact Mary Turner, chairperson at 816-263-2294 for further information.

LAFAYETTE COUNTY, MO JUNETEENTH 2009: COUNT DOWN, 1 MORE DAY UNTIL EVENT ON JUNE 20, 2009

UNITY: FAMILIES ENTWINED IN 2009There is a lot that's been planned for Juneteenth at the Lafayette County celebaration that will be in Higginsville, MO on Saturday, June 20, 2009.

Parade starts at 10 am.
Lots of children activities, old time fun relays, games, free horse rides sponsored by the Buffalo Soldiers, inflatibles, the nature display from Missouri Conservation, the Madden video tournament with its prizes!

There's a raffle. 1st prize is a Roadmate GPS. 2nd prize is $100. Donation is $1.00 per ticket. Tickets are still available on the day of the event. Tickets were donated by Taber Printing in Henrietta, MO.

Lots of information and resources will be available at the 4-H building where the educational displays and presentation are.

T-shirts and souvenir booklets are on sale.

Main stage will be hot with excitement and energy with all of the live music and entertainment.

Bring your lawn chairs, but there will be seating available IN THE SHADE, too. Put on your celebration hats, too.

Put on your celebration hats and meet us at Juneteenth in Higginsville, MO.

LAFAYETTE COUNTY, MO JUNETEENTH 2009: COUNT DOWN, 1 MORE DAY UNTIL EVENT ON JUNE 20, 2009

HAPPY JUNETEENTH, JUNE 19!

"...Juneteenth is a day for celebration of freedom and family, but also a day that calls us all to rededicate ourselves to the convictions at the heart of our American experiment. It reminds us that with the work of each successive generation, we come closer to the realization of that more perfect union."
President Barack Obama