The Juneteenth Festival rocked Westlake High School last Saturday.
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top – drummer, Dehconte. |
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INSIDE WESTLAKE HIGH SCHOOL, music and line dancing dominated the scene. The drumming of Dehconte drew a big crowd of enthusiastic line-dancers, male and female, old and young. Zydeco music by Roy Carrier and the Zydeco Night Riders had everybody scooting their boots across the floor. Some couples paired up to twist and twirl.
Delegate Peter Murphy talked to visitors passing the he table staffed at the Festival. He told The Bay Net, “We’re here every year. This year the turnout seems lower, though it has picked up as the day goes on.”
A parade down Smallwood Drive from Food Lion to Westlake High School kicked off the event. Near the Westlake entrance, members of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity promoted their blood drive held in conjunction with the Juneteenth Festival.
“We organized this event with the Red Cross and we do it in honor of Dr. Charles Drew,” said Omega Psi Phi coordinator, Irving Copeland. Dr. Drew, a Washington D.C. native and former member of Omega Psi Phi, was a pioneering physician and a multi-talented man.
Outside the school, HIV awareness messages dominated the music and spoken performances. The BET network’s “Rap-It-Up” message displayed prominently beside informational brochures and a rainbow of free condoms.
The outdoor entertainment featured rappers and poets turning out endless lyric and rhyme while also sharing messages of health, confidence, responsibility and safety. Renee Coates from the Charles County Health Department had the fun job of encouraging gastrointestinal health and seeing that information regarding many diseases was easily accessible.
From its Galveston, Texas beginnings in 1865, June 19th has been observed as the African American Emancipation Day. The Black Leadership Council for Excellence (BLCE) of Charles County organizes the Juneteenth Festival and many other events which encourage health and safety while promoting culture and arts throughout Charles County.
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Heather Bartlett is TheBayNet.com’s Waldorf and Arts Correspondent.
To contact her about this article, Waldorf issues or Arts events comment below or email bartlett@thebaynet.com.
Photos by Heather Bartlett for TheBayNet.com.