VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — History, culture, and community are coming together at the Virginia Beach oceanfront for Jazzteenth a celebration rooted in the meaning of Juneteenth.
The festival takes place June 20, honoring the history of Juneteenth by turning the space into a celebration of freedom and culture. The event is free and open to the public.
Organizers are G-Man Mangement in partnership with the City of Virginia Beach, and they want the community involved and are currently seeking volunteers and vendors to take part in the festival.
"The community, like, that’s what it’s all about. It’s about bringing the community together, which music does that. It’s not all about the music, but we have a lot of other stuff, a lot of educational stuff as well as the arts and things like that, so really just everybody together," George Waters, CEO of G-Man Management, said.
Organizers say the sound of the festival is deeply connected to the history of the oceanfront.
"Originated from us pretty much being creative, pretty much bring in a jazz feel because we all pretty much started that. I mixed them with some R&B and just taking it back to like when segregation and stuff was going on when it came to the Virginia Beach oceanfront. That’s all that could pretty much come out there," Waters said.
Beyond the music, there is a focus on what people take away from the experience.
"The biggest thing for us is like the youth. We got a lot of great youth activations and things going on where we can actually educate this youth about, you know, what happened back in the day and it is what it is today," Waters said.
The goal is to bring a different kind of energy to the oceanfront, featuring artists like Keke Wyatt and Vivian Green.
"As far as Keke Wyatt and Vivian Green, were trying to bring talent to the oceanfront that typically doesn’t come out there," Waters said.
Organizers hope the event leaves a lasting impact on the city.
"I have nothing but positive things to say about the city of Virginia Beach, so that’s what it’s about. Hopefully we can return it by bringing economic growth and impact and help some of the businesses around as well as the hotels, it’s good for everybody," Waters said.
"Hopefully we made an impact, hopefully we gave people a great memorable experience, and they want to see it again," Waters said.
