The Hamblen County Juneteenth Celebration at Morristown Landing was a success and saw a large crowd wandering in and around the community event and activity center, all the while enjoying music, food and more.

Organizer Keisha Griffin Monroe said having the opportunity to have an indoor and outdoor event lent itself to a broad range of activities and vendors.

“I think it went phenomenally,” she said. “I love the option of being able to have an indoor and outdoor option that The Landing provided us with, and the overflow outside gave us the space to have all those food trucks. I’ve heard nothing but good things about it. I’m definitely impressed with the place. It was definitely a good choice to move to that location.

“I really appreciate the outpouring of love and support from the community. We had probably what I would think is the widest version of diversity this year that I’ve ever seen in vendors and participants. So it was a beautiful thing.” Monroe said she didn’t have a good way to track attendance numbers, but if vendor response was any clue there were hundreds or more people that came through the event.

“I don’t have a number — I wish I did,” she said. “I don’t even know how to begin to track it. All I know is that two of my food trucks sold out. One of them had a recordbreaking day. Twinz Main Squeeze beat their (revenue record) by 15% from any other event they’ve ever done.”

Many of the acts that performed were local and inspired the crowd. Drums Up, Guns Down from Knoxville returned with their high energy, positive messaging drum and dance routine.

A local youth group from Jefferson City put on a moving performance.

“Martha Davis Baptist Church has a youth group called A Tribe of Judah. They have two different age groups, and both of them performed dance. Then they had their youngest member, who I want to say is in preschool, named Marcellus. He did a presentation by himself. The beauty of it is that he is autistic and has a hard time with a lot of things in life, but the fact that he could focus and complete that song and knew every single movement had everybody in tears.”

Preston Thompson, an area minister and business leader, gave a history the Treece family, a prominent black family that was settled in the now gone, submerged into the Cherokee Reservoir by the TVA, Golar Community. Thompson said the family history represents a larger truth of community history.

“The story of the Treece family in Hamblen County is not simply the story of one family — it is the story of faith, perseverance, sacrifice, education and community,” he said. “It is the story of people who built lives under circumstances that were often difficult and sometimes unjust, yet who refused to surrender hope.”

Thompson told the story of the family and connected it to the holiday and the crowd that listened to the history.

“As we celebrate Juneteenth, we remember a people who have endured hard times, who have survived discrimination, who overcame barriers, and continued to build families, businesses, and communities,” Thompson said. “The Treece family story, like some many family stories represented in this room today reflects this journey. It reminds us that our ancestors were not merely victims of history. They were makers of it.

“They were farmers and craftsmen, teachers and preachers, mothers and fathers, builders and dreamers. They left a footprint that still guides us today and that brings me back to where I started: You can’t get to where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been. When we know our history, we gain perspective. When we know our history, we gain gratitude. When we know our history, we gain responsibility. Because history is not simply looking backward; it’s about carrying forward the best of what came before us… “As we celebrate Juneteenth, let us honor those who came before us – not only by remembering their names, but by continuing their work. Let us teach our children where they came from. Let us preserve the stories that have shaped us. Let us celebrate the sacrifices that made our opportunities possible.“