NORFOLK, Va. — Juneteenth marks June 19th, 1865 — the day enslaved people in Galveston, Texas learned they were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.
Now, 160 years later, that history is set to be honored at Town Point Park in Norfolk this weekend with music, food, culture and community.
Nichelle Norris said she is looking forward to taking it all in.
"I'm looking forward to coming down early, enjoying the festivities, enjoying all of the food the acts and everything associated with Juneteenth," Norris said.
The celebration is expected to draw thousands to Norfolk's waterfront, but organizers and attendees alike are keeping an eye on the weather.
"I'm keeping my eye on it very very closely because I don't live far from here and I have been activities here before and when it starts to rain, they have actually shut it down because of safety reasons," Norris said.
Festival organizers said they are watching conditions closely as preparations continue.
"We monitor the weather very closely. Everything's go right now. Nothing's changed and everything's on schedule as planned, but you know if anything were to happen. The best place to check for updates would be our social media pages in our websites," Jordan Lett of Festevents said.
Organizers said they are optimistic everything will go off without a hitch despite the possibility of some showers in the forecast.
"You know the weather does look good outside of maybe some spotty weather Friday that we're watching fairly closely, it could change. If we get some good weather and everything goes off without a hitch all of that planning will payoff," Lett said.
One of the weekend's most anticipated moments is a Friday night performance by Patti LaBelle, and for Norris, that is reason enough to arrive early.
"That's the main reason why I'm coming. She comes on at 8 o'clock and if I have to get here at 10 in the morning to get a good spot, that's exactly what I'm doing cause I'm very much a Patti LaBelle fan," Norris said.
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