June 17, 2024
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mayor Benjamin D. Florsheim, 860-638-4801

Juneteenth Holiday and Flag Raising in the City of Middletown

Middletown Ujima Alliance to Host the 4^th Annual Juneteenth Celebration

The Middletown Ujima Alliance is pleased to present the 4^th Annual Juneteenth "Liberation Day" Festival and 2^nd Annual Liberation Day Parade on Wednesday, June 19^th 2024. The parade will start on North Main Street in Middletown at 10:30am and will finish at the Middletown South Green. During the parade, seven drill and dance teams from across the state will compete. The Juneteenth Celebration festival will take place at Harbor Park in Middletown immediately following the parade.

Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of the last enslaved people in the former Confederacy. The City of Middletown and the Middletown Racial Justice Coalition along with other sponsors will recognize the occasion with a celebration of Black Culture, Heritage, and Freedom. The community is invited to join us at Harbor Park on June 19^th for a festival filled with excitement for all to enjoy. 

The program will start at Harbor Park immediately after the parade with African drumming to open up the festivities. The festival will feature entertainment from At Last, Hot 93.7's DJ Wrexx and other DJs, Battle of the Drumline and Majorette Dance competitions, spoken word performances, a Best of the Fest Deejay Competition, Scholarship Awards ceremony, presentation of Middletown’s 2024 Miss Juneteenth, and more. The program will also highlight participants in the Middletown Ujima Alliance Artistic Expression Contest, run in partnership with Middletown Public Schools, and contest winners will be honored. 

During the festival there will be free hamburgers, hotdogs, and water available for the community at the Middletown Ujima Alliance tent. Free parking for the event will be available on Main Street in Middletown, at Main Street Market public parking and on other side streets. Please note that parking is not available at Tate’s restaurant at Harbor Park.  

The Middletown Ujima Alliance, the City of Middletown, and the Middletown Racial Justice Coalition look forward to this community celebration of liberation, freedom, and the historic importance and current relevance of the Juneteenth holiday.  

In honor of the significance of Juneteenth and in recognition of Juneteenth as an important Federal Holiday, the City of Middletown will raise the Juneteenth Flag at City Hall on Tuesday June 18^th at 10:00am. The flag will fly over City Hall for one week. Mayor Florsheim would like to extend his thanks to the dedicated group of City of Middletown staff who spearheaded the effort to have a Juneteenth flag raising at City Hall. Mayor Florsheim commented “The Juneteenth Flag will be flown over the City of Middletown not only because it is the right thing to do, but because our staff came together to organize this flag raising. This, the second annual raising of the Juneteenth flag, is for the City by City of Middletown workers, and I am proud that it reflects the ongoing commitment by our community to recognize the historical legacy of slavery in the United States and the importance of the Juneteenth holiday as a celebration of liberation, emancipation, and self-determination for all people.”

Please feel free to join us at the City Hall flagpole at 10:00am on June 18^th for the flag raising.

For more information about the Middletown Ujima Alliance and the Juneteenth parade and celebration that will be held on June 19^th, please call (860) 789-7681.