Perry and Warner Robins to celebrate Juneteenth this Saturday

HOUSTON COUNTY – The cities of Perry and Warner Robins are each having their own Juneteenth celebrations on Saturday, June 15.

The City of Perry’s Juneteenth celebration will be from noon to 3 p.m. at the Perry Events Center while the Warner Robins Juneteenth celebration starts from noon to 4:30 p.m. located at Perkins Field, the Wellston Center, and the Old Recreation Center.

 “There’s going to be a variety of activities and performances that will happen,” Communications Manager for the City of Perry Tabitha Clark said. “A couple of things the event will have include dance performances and also a fashion show as well as other vendors in celebration of Juneteenth, and there will also be food trucks on site.” 

With Juneteenth being a relatively newly recognized holiday, having a Juneteenth celebration is very important as this is Perry’s third annual.

 “Here at the city of Perry, we are committed to several different values, but a lot of what it really boils down to is making sure that we celebrate all of the parts of our community no matter what,” she said. “A big population in the City of Perry celebrates Juneteenth and really wants to come together and celebrate that part of it.”

Clark said Perry Councilwoman Phyllis Bynum-Grace has been the driving force behind the Juneteenth celebration. 

“She has been instrumental in making sure that our Juneteenth celebration is authentic and making sure that we can celebrate it in the best possible way we can,” she said.

 Clark said the city of Perry is committed to diversity. 

“Not only do we want to celebrate Food Truck Friday and all that good stuff, but we also want to celebrate our history and part of our diversity to the different segments of our population, so we don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to celebrate that,” she said. 

Antuanette Davis is the coordinator for the Warner Robins Juneteenth celebration and said that Mayor LaRhonda Patrick wants to make this an annual event.

 “We are just fortunate this year that the city of Warner Robins is our co-host, and it is getting bigger and better as we go,” Davis said. 

This Juneteenth celebration will feature a parade starting at 10 a.m. The parade will be going down North Davis Drive and ending behind Warner Robins City Hall. 

Davis said there will be over 70 vendors inside and outside, 12 food trucks, and local talent performing. There will also be a kids’ area and live music throughout the celebration. 

“We just want people to bring their lawn chairs and blankets and just come out and enjoy the celebration,” she said. 

Davis’s main reason for putting on this Juneteenth celebration is so the people are remembering the event itself and keeping the history alive.

“It allows us to have unity in the community and that is just one of my favorite sayings,” she said. “I am just asking everybody to come out and celebrate.”

 Davis said it is very important to celebrate Juneteenth. 

“It allows us to share our history with our youth and we hope and encourage them to keep the tradition going,” she said.

 Both the City of Perry and the City of Warner Robins encourage everybody to show up to celebrate Juneteenth.