Juneteenth is a federal holiday that commemorates the legal end of slavery in the United States. Here in Roanoke, families, friends and neighbors are invited to participate in a day-long celebration of Black culture, joy and freedom beginning at McCadden Park on Saturday, June 14, with the Juneteenth Family Reunion and ending at the CommUNITY ARTS-reach Event Center with an evening event titled “Freedom Steppin’: Boots, Hats, Fans & Heritage.”
Bernadette BJ Lark, founder and artistic director of CommUNITY ARTS-reach, notes that the day’s events are a “love letter to our elders and ancestors, showing them that the next generation can remind everyone that our culture is rich.” She adds that “our stories matter, and our joy is revolutionary.”
The evening program will invite participants to learn and dance several different line dances, but you can also “just move to your own rhythm,” she says. Lark notes that these dances will range from the ever-popular “Electric Slide” to the contemporary line dance phenomenon “Boots on the Ground.”
In recent years, national artists such as Beyoncé, Lil Nas X and Shaboozey have drawn increased attention to the role of Black musicians in the country and western genre, as well as the historic roots of country music within Black culture. Lark notes that the “Boots, Hats and Fans” theme ties Roanoke to an even more regional tradition coming out of Black Southern Soul music. “I grew up about thirty to forty miles away from where Douglas Furtick is from,” referring to the South Carolina-based songwriter of “Boots on the Ground.” She adds that the originator of the accompanying line dance, Tre Little, is from a nearby town in Georgia.
To deck oneself out in boots, hats and fans and dance, Lark says, tells the world that “I am alive. I have love. And I have freedom.” This ties directly back to the Juneteenth theme. “We can dance and enjoy music because we have freedom,” she adds, and with freedom “you feel that there’s joy in every beat, every step, in every note.”
Event Details:
- Date: Saturday, June 14, 2025
- Location: CommUNITY ARTS-reach Event Center, 3023 Frontier Road NW
- Event Time: 8pm to 12am
- Tickets: $10 entry
For more information, visit the CommUNITY ARTS-reach website.
