Soul & Spirit: A Juneteenth Evening on Friday, June 20, at the Albany Museum of Art will feature food tasting, vendors with handmade items, a jewelry demo, entertainment, and Black history trivia for prizes. The event for adults 21 and older is 5 pm-7:30 pm.

“Juneteenth is also known as Jubilee Day, and it is the longest observed African-American holiday in the United States, dating back 159 years,” AMA Curator of African Collections and African Diasporic Art Sidney Pettice said. “It’s a time to celebrate freedom and African-American arts, history, and culture. We hope to honor the traditions of this holiday through the uplifting of what our regional culture has to offer.”

Juneteenth is a portmanteau of June and nineteenth and commemorates June 19, 1865, when Maj. Gen. Gordin Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas, more than a month after the Civil War ended. It began as church and community gatherings in Texas, but expanded to other states. Its popularity surged in the 1970s, and it was formally recognized by all states by 1979. In 2021, Congress made June 19 an official federal holiday—Juneteenth National Independence Day.

Smokin Peace and Rayee’s of Light will have handmade items in the lobby, where a wine-and-beer bar will be located. Aqwerd Gyrl Co. will be in the AMA Classroom for a jewelry and waist beads demo and history lesson.

Food tasting will start in the lobby at 5:45 pm and continue until supplies are gone. Participants include Q’s Cakes and Baby Shane’s restaurant.

Entertainment, including a Dance ASU performance and readings by local historian and author Angie Jones, will be 5:45-6:30 pm and 7-7:30 pm in the Willson Auditorium.

From 6:30-7 pm, Black history trivia will be underway. “Participants can win prizes including a Cornerstone Coffee gift certificate, a Flint RiverQuarium membership, and paint party gift baskets,” Pettice said.

Admission is $5, or $10 with two drinking tickets. Additional drinking tickets may be purchased for $5 each. Tickets can be purchased online at www.albanymuseum.com/event/soul-spirit-2025/.