Juneteenth celebration in Pittsburgh runs through Sunday
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The Juneteenth celebration in Pittsburgh's Point State Park wasn't guaranteed just a few weeks ago.
Originally, Pittsburgh city officials announced they would send $125,000 to its city-sponsored Juneteenth event instead of the one now in its 11th year. On top of that, the state originally told festival organizers they could not use Point State Park.
"It was a lot of ups and downs. We had to jump through a whole bunch of hurdles," organizer William B. Marshall said.
The state reversed course, and Pittsburgh City Council voted on Tuesday to give the festival $125,000 as well.
"Without that funding, we wouldn't be able to have the artists we have here. We probably wouldn't be able to have the local talent we have involved in this program, and we would have had to cut back drastically on our show," Marshall said.
In addition, without the funding, they would have had to cancel the older national acts planned for Market Square.
"With Mayor (Ed) Gainey's decision to take money from us and give it to another party, the whole city was in an uproar. The whole city complained to city council about these actions, and we are so thankful city council decided to reinstate the money back to us because it was vital that we have this," Marshall said.
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He explained he was glad everything worked out so they could put on an event that he says everyone can enjoy.
"We are so happy that we were able to overcome everything that was going on here," Marshall said.
There was music in the park, vendors on Liberty Avenue and more music in Market Square. The event runs through Sunday.
The city-sponsored event is planned for the end of the month.
Saturday, June 15th, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Juneteenth Grand Jubilee Parade
The parade will begin along the following route: Freedom Corner, down Centre Ave, left onto 6th Ave, right onto 5th Ave, left onto Liberty Ave, and Commonwealth Place. The vehicles and floats will continue left on Commonwealth then left onto Blvd of Allies.
Road closures from June 14, 2024, through June 17, 2024:
Liberty Avenue: Closed in both directions between Stanwix Street and Commonwealth Place
Market Square: Closed except for access from Forbes Ave to McMasters Way for local traffic
Commonwealth Place: Will be open but modified traffic pattern with one lane in each direction
The Liberty Avenue entrance to the Gateway Center Garage will be closed starting as early as tomorrow, Friday, June 14, through Monday, June 17 at noon. The Boulevard of the Allies entrance will remain open at all times.
A single lane in each direction will be open on Commonwealth Place in front of the Wyndham Hotel. The UPA garage will be accessible at all times.
Below is a map of road closures during the event.