Afro-Brazilian troupe Banda Alegria of the Brazilian Cultural Arts Center of Santa Barbara performs during the second Santa Ynez Valley Juneteenth celebration held in 2021 at Solvang Park. The event will return to the park this Saturday with more live entertainment and a full Southern-style meal for those who order in advance.

Jordan Killebrew tells the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors about events planned for the Juneteenth Santa Barbara celebration coming up Sunday afternoon in this screenshot from CSBTV's livestream of Wednesday's special board meeting.

Organizers Vashti and Madi Wilson welcome visitors to the 2021 Juneteenth celebration presented by Madi’s Treasure Box in Solvang Park. Madi's Treasure Box is again presenting this year's celebration Saturday evening in the park.

Afro-Brazilian troupe Banda Alegria of the Brazilian Cultural Arts Center of Santa Barbara performs during the second Santa Ynez Valley Juneteenth celebration held in 2021 at Solvang Park. The event will return to the park this Saturday with more live entertainment and a full Southern-style meal for those who order in advance.

Jordan Killebrew tells the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors about events planned for the Juneteenth Santa Barbara celebration coming up Sunday afternoon in this screenshot from CSBTV's livestream of Wednesday's special board meeting.

Organizers Vashti and Madi Wilson welcome visitors to the 2021 Juneteenth celebration presented by Madi’s Treasure Box in Solvang Park. Madi's Treasure Box is again presenting this year's celebration Saturday evening in the park.

Three free public celebrations of Juneteenth are planned this weekend in Santa Barbara County, one each in Lompoc and Solvang on Saturday and another on Sunday in Santa Barbara.

Here’s an overview of each event:

Set for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Ryon Park, 800 W. Ocean Ave., the celebration will feature keynote speaker Brooke Russell, an experimental particle physicist working as an Owen Chamberlain Postdoctoral Fellow at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Physics Division in Berkeley.

Russell was one of the first 100 Black women in the United States and first Black woman at Yale University to earn a doctorate in physics.

The celebration will feature three historical reenactments, remembrances from government officials, facts about slavery and other profiles, music, poetry and dance performances, games for children and adults, children’s storytelling and a puppet show, arts and crafts, merchandise for sale and displays by nonprofit organizations.

A bake-off will also take place for peach cobbler, sweet potato pie and red velvet cake, and food will be available for purchase from vendors.

Santa Barbara County Public Health Department’s mobile vaccination clinic will be on hand to provide COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters.

The celebration is sponsored by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, commonly known as the NAACP, for Santa Maria and Lompoc and Collective Cultures Creating Change, or C4 Lompoc.

It is financially supported by the Fund for Santa Barbara’s Racial Equity Fund and Santa Barbara County.

For more information, contact NAACP President Lawanda Lyons-Pruitt at 805-448-7869.

All of Santa Ynez Valley will celebrate Juneteenth from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday at Solvang Park on Mission Drive at First Street downtown.

Attendees can enjoy a full Southern-style meal at the celebration if they sign up in advance by visiting www.juneteenthsyv.com.

But other activities that require no signups will include a kids zone, live music and dancing as well as a special performance and storytime by Princess Tiana.

Families are invited to bring blankets to enjoy the evening activities.

The celebration is presented by Madi’s Treasure Box, and more information is available on the website.

The Juneteenth celebration will be a block party from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday in the Funk Zone, the historically Black section of Santa Barbara, in the 200 block of Gray Avenue between East Montecito Street and East Yanonali Street.

“Caring for the People” is the theme of this year’s event that will feature free food for up to 200 people, live performances by local groups and individuals, the return of the Black/African-American Artisan Market and a Kids Zone with Princess Tiana.

Black performers will include Vivian Storm, Miriam Dance, Talitha Garbielle, the Knew Vibe, Sojourner Kincaid Rolle and DJ Tim Stone, with Jacquelyn Chin serving as the emcee.

The event will include a “context statement” that will relate the Black history of Santa Barbara, and attendees are invited to share artifacts, talk about their families and display mementos.

A mobile COVID-19 vaccination clinic will also be on-site, and food will be available for purchase from vendors.

For more information, visit www.juneteenthsb.org.

Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.