Philadelphia celebrates freedom from slavery with largest Juneteenth parade in U.S.
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - This weekend, the City of Brotherly Love will celebrate freedom with the largest Juneteenth parade in the nation. The Philadelphia Juneteenth Parade and Festival will take place Sunday in West Philadelphia.
Friday, the Pennsylvania Juneteenth Initiative hosted the Juneteenth "Honoring the Ancestors" breakfast.
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During the event, members honored the late CBS3 legend and broadcasting pioneer Trudy Haynes and the late La Deva Davis, who was a beloved faculty member at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. The private event was just for sponsors.
The Juneteenth Parade and Festival will be held this Sunday between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
"Huge parade, nine exciting floats, we've got a special performance from The Lion King, and the students from CAPA will be performing as well. On the main stage, we've got Fat Man Scoop, Lil' Mol, and Cupid," said Gary Shepherd, the President and CEO of 3rd Floor Media LLC.
ALSO SEE: "It's just marvelous": Philadelphia's first-ever Juneteenth mural unveiled in Germantown
The parade starts at N. 52nd Street and Parkside Avenue, and runs down 52nd Street, all the way to Malcolm X Park.
The festival will follow, with over 200 vendors. There will also be a "children's village" for kids to join in on the fun.
The event will also have two stages with entertainment, tons of fun activities and free food!
The festival runs until 8 p.m.
ALSO SEE: Philadelphia's historic Johnson House prepares for Juneteenth Festival
Juneteenth honors the day the last enslaved people in the U.S. learned they were free on June 19, 1865, which was two years are the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.