Fun for the Whole Family at the Fifth Annual Juneteenth Freedom Day Celebration in Hingham

By the Hingham Unity Council

All are invited to join us this Thursday, June 19, 2025 from 4-7pm for the fifth annual Juneteenth Freedom Day Celebration at the Hingham Harbor Bandstand. Come enjoy live music and performers, engaging activities for all ages, offerings from artisan vendors, craft beer, and delicious food at this free community event. This year’s event is produced by the South Shore Unity Council, which is a nonprofit comprised of organizations from across the South Shore who share the Hingham Unity Council’s mission of fostering a more welcoming, diverse and inclusive community. Once again this year, the HUC welcomes the incredibly talented Daniel Laurent as both a member of the planning committee and our event host.

Great Activities for All Ages!

Activities start at 4:00 followed by presentations, performances and live music until 7:00.

For kids (or kids at heart!):

For everyone:

  • Musical entertainment by award-winning hip hop artist OOMPA and the incomparable Angelena and the Unit
  • A display created by the Hingham Historical Society in conjunction with Rev250 featuring Hingham’s Black Revolutionary War Regiment
  • Artisan market featuring offerings by BIPOC (black, indigenous, and people of color) vendors
  • Tunes spun by DJ Jeff 2X
  • African drum and dance performance by Troupefall West African Drum and Dance
  • Student dance performance by Beat the Odds Dance
  • Student performers, including a spoken word artist and vocalist
  • Black National Anthem sing-along
  • Presentation of the winners of the Plymouth River Schools Monuments Contest

For refueling:

Artisan Market

Once again, this year, the event will feature an array of amazing offerings from various local businesses including Candle Lux , SPK Headphones, RoyalTay.co and more! Click here to view the full list. As in past years, ALL vendors at this event are Black and Brown-owned businesses.

“The planning committee has been intentional about holding space for Black creatives and businesses. In these times, community building, intentionality, and kindness are needed more than ever,” said Daniel Laurent.

Learn more about Juneteenth

What is the Black National Anthem?

“Lift Every Voice and Sing” is a hymn affectionately referred to as “the Black National Anthem” based on a poem written in 1900 by James Weldon Johnson. In the 1920s, it would be adopted by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as the official Negro National Anthem.Learn more here.

What is Juneteenth?

On June 19, 1865 (“Juneteenth”), Union soldiers enforced President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and freed all remaining slaves in Texas, two months after the South’s official surrender in the Civil War and two and a half years after the proclamation went into effect. Also known as Emancipation Day and Freedom Day, Juneteenth originated as a Texas holiday to celebrate the end of slavery throughout the United States. Learn more here.

Why celebrate Juneteenth?

No matter who or where you are, Juneteenth is worthy of a celebration! It has been celebrated since 1866, mostly by Black Americans, but it is important for every American to recognize it as a turning point in our nation’s history to form a more perfect union.

Thank you to our partners

Thank you to our South Shore Unity Council neighbors who helped produce this event this year: Abington ASPIRE, Duxbury For All, First Parish Church of Norwell, the Hanover Unity Council, Hanover Pride, Hull No Place for Hate, Pembroke Pride, Scituate STRIDE, South Shore Pride, and Weymouth Pride.

Mark your calendars:

Juneteenth Freedom Day Celebration

Thursday, June 19, 2025
4:00 pm – 7:00 pm
The Bandstand at Hingham Harbor
Free and open to all, no advance registration required.

Learn more on the HUC website here.

For more information about this and other upcoming events and initiatives, join the Hingham Unity Council’s email list and follow us on Instagram and Facebook. Any questions can be emailed to info@hinghamunity.org. Formed by members of the Hingham community in the fall of 2019, the Hingham Unity Council is part of the South Shore Unity Council, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. All are welcome and encouraged to participate.