Juneteenth parade set to get underway in Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - All social groups, activists, community leaders, and more are being called on to attend the Juneteenth Voting Rights Parade today.
It will start in Freedom Corner and end at Point State Park for a voting rights forum and then a celebration.
The Western Pennsylvania Juneteenth parade lineup is at 10 a.m. and then gets moving at 11 a.m.
RELATED: How to observe Juneteenth 2022 in the Pittsburgh area
It's a re-enactment of the 1870 Grand Jubilee of Freemen Parade in Pittsburgh and the 1914 Women's Sufferage Parade.
WATCH: Jessica Guay reports from the start of the parade
The Juneteenth holiday celebrates the day the slaves in Texas learned they were freed - two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
A voting rights forum will be at 1 p.m. and Juneteenth homecoming activities start a 2 p.m. with speakers, live music, and more than 100 vendors.
"It just depends on how powerful they want to express themselves," said Leah Thomas, one of the vendors and owner of A Woman's Touch Fashions. "So I have a lot to offer no matter what."
The festival will welcome dozens of minority-owned small businesses, artisans, and others.
Pittsburgh will also be measuring the event's impact on the economy.
"We have data collection points that we collect to bring together, aggregate, and analyze," said Jerad Bachar, president of VisitPittsburgh. "So, we'll look at cell phone movement, we'll look at a lot of movement from individuals coming from outside the market, individuals inside the market."
It will take a couple of weeks to report on the festival's impact.
This year's event is bigger with more vendors along Liberty and Penn avenues and additional music and activities in Market Square.