The Hamblen Juneteenth Celebration is scheduled to return, Friday, June 19 at Morristown Landing.

The event, which commemorates the Juneteenth National Holiday, will be from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The Celebration – which is focused on Freedom, Heritage and Community – will feature live music, food, vendors, kids activities and more.

Former University of Tennessee quarterback Sterling Hinton – aka DJ Sterl the Pearl – will be on the ones and twos for the event.

Performances will include music, poetry and spoken word presentations. And the event will host history talks discussing the roots of Hamblen County families.

Juneteenth is a federal holiday the commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States. Although President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1 of 1863, it took two years for freedom to reach the enslaved people in the western Confederate state of Texas.

The holiday was first celebrated in Texas on June 19, 1866 – the first anniversary of freedom arriving in Texas. It has steadily grown in recognition over the decades.

It was declared a federal holiday in 2021.