2023 Date: June 17-18, 2023
This post documents my experience on June 17, 2011.
In September of 1862, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln announced that he would free the slaves of all rebelling states that did not return to the Union by January 1863. A few months later, when January arrived, no state had returned and the order was signed.
Of course, since those states didn’t belong to the Union, this signature really didn’t free them.
But it did cause many slaves of those states to flee the plantations, hurting the agricultural economy. It also prevented Britain and France from helping the South.
Both of these things seriously hurt the South and aided in its defeat in April of 1865.
But slavery still continued until June of that year, when Union General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas with 2,000 federal troops to reclaim the state and enforce the freedom of the last remaining slaves in the country.
This emancipation occurred on June 19, 1865…
…a day that is now celebrated as Juneteenth.
Honoring the symbolic the end of slavery (it wasn’t officially abolished until December 1865 with the 13th Amendment), there are at least 39 states that celebrate Juneteeth, including various cities in Ohio alone.
I went to the festival in Columbus at the beautiful Franklin Park…
…where just beyond the conservatory (built in 1895)…
…I found JuneteenthOhio going strong.
Walking onto the festival grounds…


…I took in the aromas of various foods.
The purchase of all food items was only possible through food tickets, but not just any food tickets…
…they were Obama tickets!
Although I wasn’t that hungry, I couldn’t resist the sweets.
…like the delicious lemon cupcake at Patticakes…
…or the moist sweet potato cookie I got at another booth around the corner.
I used this excess sugar…




…to check out the merchandise of the various vendors…
…contemplate some time in the jump houses…
…and even take a short stroll in the park.
When my sugar level evened out…
…I joined the other festival goers…
…and enjoyed watching part of the talent show.
Once the winner was declared, I realized I needed to get to another festival before it got too late. I headed to my car…
…but not before taking a chance with the DiscoverOhio wheel…
…and winning some useful prizes.