Highlights from Milwaukee’s 2023 Juneteenth Celebration

On Monday, June 19, 2023, the city of Milwaukee observed its 52nd Juneteenth celebration. Milwaukee is home to one of the longest held Juneteenth Day celebrations in the United States. The theme of this year’s parade was “I Am Juneteenth.” When it first began in 1971, Milwaukee was one of the first northern cities to host such celebrations. The local parade and festivities have been organized by Northcott Neighborhood House for the past half century. In pre-pandemic years the event would attract up to 170,000 visitors. For 2023, the third year of Juneteenth being a federal holiday, the crowd capacity appeared to break all previous records. Nearly 400 vendors in booths lined King Drive from Burleigh to Center Streets, offering African- style crafts and a variety of traditional food unique to the street festival. The holiday began with the Juneteenth Parade followed by opening ceremonies. The street festival concluded with a concert at Bernice and Clinton Rose Park.

Juneteenth is one of the first cultural celebrations of Milwaukee’s summer-long festival season. The Juneteenth board has already met to discuss how to make things safer and bigger for next year.