The best Juneteenth events in NYC for 2025

651 ARTS, a place to "create and experience art that is led by, centers, and celebrates Black voices," is back with its fifth annual Juneteenth celebration, once again in collaboration with the popular outdoor music concert series The Soapbox Presents. Taking over The Plaza at 300 Ashland Place in Downtown Brooklyn on Saturday, June 21, the day-long event will feature a series of musical performances, spoken word, dance workshops and other special experiences throughout the day.

Additionally, there will be a curated Made Black marketplace selling contemporary fashion, accessories, home goods, handmade jewelry, and more, all from Black-owned businesses and Black vendors and artisans. It's free to get in; reserve a ticket here.

Lewis Latimer is one of the most important American figures that you've likely never heard of. Among other things, the Black inventor helped develop the telephone alongside Alexander Graham Bell, as well as the lightbulb alongside Thomas Edison. If you want to learn more about this icon—which to be honest, we all should—then you can head to his former home in Flushing, Queens. 

The Juneteenth Freedom Celebration at Lewis Latimer House on Saturday, June 28 features live performances, hands-on activities, and powerful tributes to Black innovation, creativity, and resilience. Inspired by Latimer's legacy, this immersive event brings history to life through interactive S.T.E.A.M. activities exploring light, sound, flight, and invention.

It's co-hosted by the Lewis Latimer House and Cool Culture. It's free to attend; register here.

The Broadway League’s Black to Broadway Initiative presents the fifth annual Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth concert, a free outdoor event centered around Black artistry and community. 

The event will feature an all-Black Broadway cast performing Broadway musical numbers. Broadway stars Jon Michael Hill and Kara Young will co-host the live concert. The celebration will take place on Thursday, June 19, from 11am to 12:30pm (rain or shine) in Times Square.

For the past three years, two community-rooted Brooklyn organizations have come together to host a Juneteenth celebration like no other. This year, they are doing it yet again.

On Thursday, June 19, the fourth annual Juneteenth Food Festival takes place. A collaborative event co-hosted by the digital publication Black-owned Brooklyn and the Weeksville Heritage Center, the annual Juneteenth festival will be held at the historic Weeksville site, the location of one of the largest free Black communities in the United States before the Civil War. The day will honor the Texas-born holiday with food, entertainment and music, done the Brooklyn way.  

This year's lineup includes 29 local food vendors and artisans that span African American, Caribbean, Latin American and African foodways across the diaspora. The day-long event also includes Black food literature from BEM | Books & more, double-dutch performances from the Jazzy Jumpers and dance performances from the youth drumline and dance group, Brooklyn United. As for tunes, DJ Spinna will be headlining the festivities, providing the vibes all afternoon long. 

The event starts at noon and goes until 8pm. Entry is free. Keep an eye on Black-Owned Brooklyn's Instagram for more announcements. 

Celebrate Juneteenth with a rousing tribute to musical giants like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Mahalia Jackson at Adler Hall. On June 21 from 7pm to 9pm, top-tier jazz artists will unite with the MOTI Reentry Dream Band—a talented ensemble of formerly incarcerated musicians, led by guitarist David O’Rourke with Jonathan Finkelman, Jeff and Jennie Angell, Charles Walker, Patrick Morgan and Dawud Rahman—for a soul-stirring Juneteenth Jazz Jubilee, hosted by the New York Society for Ethical Culture.

"Expect spirited blues harmonica, fiery tenor sax, smooth vocals, and masterful guitar and bass—played by musicians who’ve turned adversity into artistry," organizers promise.

The annual Juneteenth in Queens festival is dedicated to honoring Black culture and creation. The event features a DJ set by Funk Flex, alongside DJ Envy, DJ G Money, and DJ Shad P; panels on justice reform, education, and Black-owned business growth; cultural activations and "Black-tivities." This year's theme is "The Family Reunion: Honoring Legacy and Tradition." 

Activities are held at Roy Wilkins Park in St. Albans on June 19 with educational Legacy Sessions from June 16–18. It's free to attend; register here. 

The 16th Annual Juneteenth NY Festival gathers thousands of attendees in Brooklyn for a vibrant celebration of rich culture through family festivals, music, dance, history, vendors, and more. This year, it will happen over June 12-19.

Events include a Black Kings celebration, a free festival with local vendors, a parade, a fashion show, and a virtual summit.

This year's theme is "A Legacy of Resilience: Celebrating the Power of Community."

Join Brandon Collins' critically acclaimed show Drunk Black History to celebrate Juneteenth at the Bell House in Brooklyn. The booze-filled lesson kicks off on Thursday, June 19 at 7:30pm, with comedians, experts and writers—including Gary Simons, Lea'h Sampson, Tocarra Elise and other surprise guests—who are skunked out of their mind trying to recap the biography of a historical Black figure or event that hasn't gotten the mainstream love they deserved.

It will be plenty entertaining, surprisingly educational and, as always, hilariously unpredictable. Plus, there will be sponsored giveaways throughout the show for lucky audience members!

The Brooklyn Children's Museum (BCM) is hosting its annual Juneteenth celebration on  Thursday, June 19 at Shirley Chisholm Circle in Brower Park, and this year, the family-friendly event will be themed "Still We Rise" in tribute to Maya Angelou's powerful and poignant poem of the same name.

From 11am to 3pm, attendees can enjoy a full slate of free, open-to-the-public programming including live performances by Brooklyn United Marching Band and Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, line dance workshops led by STooPS, a bookmobile and storytime session from Brooklyn Public Library, planting activities with Field Meridians, delicious eats provided by The Bergen Food Truck and much more. 

Head to the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) in Astoria from 12pm-6pm on Juneteenth (June 19) for an afternoon of eclectic programming for all ages, spotlighting the legacy of the great Black American musician Louis Armstrong. Expect a gallery scavenger hunt, dance performances by community partner Edge School of the Arts and music by The Entrfied Band, a workshop organized by the Louis Armstrong House Museum and themed activities in the Museum’s Media Game Lab. 

After a screening of Martin Ritt's 1961 musical romance Paris Blues, starring Sidney Poitier, Paul Newman and Louis Armstrong, enjoy a discussion led by LAHM Historian Hyland Harris, featuring a presentation of archival materials about Louis Armstrong’s electrifying performances in films from the 1930s to the 1960s. 

REPARATIONS!, a Juneteenth celebration of Black improv comedy, is back for its fourth edition, hosted by WildNOut castmate Sydney Duncan as she celebrates the June 19 holiday with a "Blackity-Black showcase" of some of NYC's top Black improv talents and sketch teams

Along with a special headlining stand-up set by Eagle Witt, the hilarious evening will see funny folks like The Blacksmiths, Brothered Toast, Black Coalition, PWIx2fifs, North Coast, Pencils of Color, Mommas Biscuits and Branded Silk. "All we want is 40 acres and some improv!" organizers joke.

On June 19, Lincoln Center will present "Oh Sankofa! A Juneteenth Celebration” by Carl Hancock Rux, a free campus-wide jubilee that draws inspiration from the rich traditions of African and African-American folklore. Honoring the influence of African folklore on modern storytelling, the event will engage audiences through music, choral performances, dance, animal tales, slave narratives, and educational fables that "celebrate a rich cultural heritage and pay tribute to human endurance in the face of adversity and hardship." Featured artists include multidisciplinary artist Dianne Smith, actress/comedian Phyllis Stickney; multimedia artist Vinson Fraley; dancer and Urban Bush Women Co-Artistic Director Chanon Judson; blue jazz guitarist Marvin Sewell; and the Etienne Lashley choir.

Presented in partnership with the National Juneteenth Museum, the All About Us Festival will welcome R&B superstar Mario alongside hip hop legend Jadakiss and house music icon Robin S, bringing timeless hits and undeniable energy to this fell-good celebration of Black culture, family and community.

Now in its third year, the returning fest—which will be held on Thursday, June 19 at historic Liberty State Park in Jersey City—will include additional musical acts from all genres, as well as food trucks, kid-friendly fun, art activations and curated shopping from Black-owned brands.

Revelers of all ages are welcome to celebrate Juneteenth at the Children's Museum of Manhattan, with a full day of interactive art projects in celebration of Black liberation, resilience, and joy held on Wednesday, June 19.

Kick off the day on the museum's first floor from 10:30am to 12:15pm, where you can participate in the Free To Be Me Mural, a community mural inspired by painters like Derrick Adams, Kerry James Marshall and Amy Sherald. Then stick around for a musical jam session, where you can decorate your own paper instrument and learn about the annual celebrations held in Galveston Island, Texas honoring this national holiday of freedom.

And finally, join artist Lillian Young who will guide you through the art and life of Opal Lee, the "grandmother of Juneteenth," after which you'll create your own zines with textured paper and markers.

Juneteenth commemorates the 1865 enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas, officially ending chattel slavery in the United States. And 160 years later, scholar and culture worker Monaye Johnson will guide a teach-in at CTHQ (59 E 4th St) on June 18 centered on the works of poet, scholar and activist June Jordan and delving into how that very liberation is an ongoing practice and process.

During the free event, Johnson will draw "on the language, frameworks and histories of Black Feminism" to discuss "the possibilities and complexities of approaching organizing across differences as we struggle towards greater freedom," organizers say. Register here.

In partnership with The DreamYard Project, a Bronx-based organization dedicated to social justice through the arts, this special Juneteenth edition of Late Shift at the Guggenheim Museum will feature vibrant poetry readings, live performances, a cash bar, and more on Thursday, June 19.

The after-hours event will spotlight DreamYard’s Rad(ical) Poetry Consortium Fellows, who will activate the museum in celebration of Juneteenth through socially engaged spoken word and live performances; participating talents include Alondra Uribe, Carlina Duan, Dena Igusti, Diego Báez, Ellen Hagan, Charlotte Abotsi, e.jin, Andy Powell and more.

It all takes place among the artwork of Rashid Johnson, titled “A Poem for Deep Thinkers.” 

For more than 30 years, the Tenement Museum shared stories about the people who once lived in the building it now owns. But that meant that some groups—particularly Black New Yorkers—were excluded, as there's no record of a Black family living in the apartment building at 97 Orchard Street. 

Now, with an aim to explore the full breadth of immigrant and migrant experiences, the Lower East Side museum is highlighting the stories of a Black family for the first time with a new tour titled "A Union of Hope: 1869." The exhibition tells the story of the Moore family who lived in Soho during and after the Civil War. Reserve tickets here for $30/person.

Rooftop Cinema Club takes movie-going to a whole new level—literally. This rooftop film series at a midtown skyscraper offers stunning views and an impressive lineup of films. 

For Juneteenth, the cinema will celebrate culture and connection with films including Brown Sugar and Love & Basketball. A portion of proceeds from screenings on June 19 supports National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC).

Ticket prices range from $23-$29/person depending on your seating preference and movie time.