The Great Falls Public Library, with United Way of Cascade County, the Alexander Temple, NeighborWorks Great Falls, the YWCA, Great Falls Rising, the Cascade County Democratic Party and Great Falls Parks and Recreation are hosting a Juneteenth celebration in Gibson Park on June 21 from noon to 3 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public.

During the celebration, there will be dancing, live music, lawn games and more.

Burgers and hotdogs will also be provided to all who attend.

If any other community organizations would like to be a part of this event, contact Sarah Cawley at scawley@greatfallslibrary.org.

Juneteenth is a federal holiday commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States.

The holiday’s name, first used in the 1890s, is a portmanteau of the words “June” and “nineteenth,” referring to June 19, 1865, the day when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War, according to the library.

Photo by Matt Ehnes for The Electric