Five Points’ fifteenth annual Juneteenth Music Festival is expanding from last year’s truncated one-day event to three days of festivities from June 19 to 21.
The event, held in Denver’s historic Black neighborhood, honors the day in 1865 that many of the nation’s last enslaved people learned they had been emancipated.
“Juneteenth is about freedom, resilience, joy and legacy,” Juneteenth Music Festival CEO Norman Harris said in a statement. “We are building something that honors our history while creating opportunities for future generations.
Harris also hopes the event boosts the neighborhood’s economy.
“There is a tremendous amount of momentum in Five Points,” Harris said. “We’ve had a number of new businesses open in the corridor.”
Yet, not all businesses have appreciated big events in recent years. In 2024, neighborhood businesses complained about fencing during the Five Points Jazz Festival and Juneteenth, saying it hurt business.
This year, the Juneteenth festival organizers paid My Wine & Spirits Shoppe — one of the loudest critics of the festival’s impact on local businesses — to stay closed during the Saturday festivities. Another critic, neighborhood historian Charles Foster, has called for more historical education in the event.
“You can have an economic boost,” Foster said. “But in a historical district, you need a historical boost, too.”
The schedule
While the big celebration will take place on Saturday, the day after Juneteenth, festivities start on the holiday proper.
On Friday, June 19, there will be a Southern Soul Plaza Party at the Five Points Plaza with southern-themed foods.
The annual Juneteenth parade will kick off at Manual High School at 9 a.m. and wrap on Welton Street by 11 a.m. on Saturday. Streets will be shut down. And thousands of festival goers will enjoy goods from hundreds of vendors, food trucks and organizations tabling the event.
Then on Sunday, from 2 to 11 p.m., the festival will wrap up with the Juneteenth Hop, when local businesses like Welton Street Cafe, Fifth Coffee House and Spangalang Brewery will host celebrations, live music and more .
“Streets will be open, so there won’t be a street closure,” Harris said of Sunday. “We’re encouraging people to come in to support the many businesses in Five Points on Welton Street.”
The public hip-hop radio station 104.7, The Drop, is programming the music. Grammy-nominated R&B artist SiR will headline.
