UTICA, NY — The Mid-Utica Neighborhood Preservation Corporation (MUNPC) is proud to
announce its 10th Annual Juneteenth Celebration, a two-day community celebration honoring freedom, local Black history, cultural pride, and community connection in Utica.
This year’s celebration will begin on Friday, June 19, with a Day of Remembrance at St.
Matthew’s Temple, focused on local storytelling, reflection, and community memory connected to the Second Ward, Washington Courts, Goldbas, and the families and neighborhoods that helped shape Utica’s Black community.
The celebration will continue on Saturday, June 20, with MUNPC’s 10th Annual Juneteenth
Celebration at Kemble Park, featuring live entertainment, community partners, local businesses, youth activities, food vendors, nonprofit tabling, community awards, and the debut of MUNPC’s new “Making History” family tree and living archive initiative.
This year, MUNPC is working to showcase 50 local businesses and vendors, with free vendor
spaces supported by Bank of Utica as the Economic Mobility Sponsor. The organization is also inviting nonprofit partners, community organizations, churches, artists, food vendors, and local leaders to participate. “Juneteenth has always been about more than celebration,” said Hilda M. Jordan, Interim Executive Director of MUNPC. “It is a day to honor freedom, remember the people and places that shaped our community, and make sure the organizations, families, and businesses doing meaningful work today are seen, supported, and connected. This year, as we celebrate our 10th annual Juneteenth, we are also launching a larger effort to preserve local Black history and build stronger community infrastructure for the future.”
Thursday, June 19 — Day of Remembrance
Location: St. Matthew’s Temple
Focus: Local storytelling, reflection, and remembrance connected to the Second Ward,
Washington Courts, Goldbas, and Utica’s Black community history. The Day of Remembrance will create space for community members to reflect on local history,
share stories, and honor the families, neighborhoods, and institutions that have shaped Black life in Utica. Food trucks will be available for lunch.
Saturday, June 20 — 10th Annual Juneteenth Celebration
Location: Kemble Park, Utica, NY
Saturday’s celebration will include:
● Showcase of 50+ local businesses and vendors
● Nonprofit and community partner tabling
● Adult-sized bouncy obstacle course
● Youth and family activities
● Food vendors
● Gospel Power Hour
● Local Talent Showcase
● Old School vs. New School DJ Battle
● Community Excellence Awards
● Headline closing performance by Trump315 beginning at 6:30 PM
● “Making History” family tree and living archive exhibit
The Community Excellence Awards will recognize nonprofit and community organizations
participating in the celebration, with $500 awards determined through in-person community
voting.
Making History: A Living Archive Initiative
A major feature of this year’s celebration is the launch of MUNPC’s Making History initiative —a community-rooted family tree, portrait, oral history, and living archive project focused on preserving Black history in Utica.
The first public installation will feature portraits, businesses, churches, organizations, and
community stories connected to Utica’s last 100 years. The exhibit is designed around rooted family trees representing different historical periods, with decade branches extending outward to show the families, institutions, and relationships that have shaped the city across generations.
The project asks: Who has been here? What did they build, contribute, and carry forward? Who is still here? What stories are at risk of being lost? At its heart, Making History is rooted in a simple truth:
We are here. We’ve been here. We’re not leaving. Registration and Participation
Businesses, vendors, nonprofits, artists, food vendors, churches, and community organizations are invited to register and participate.
MUNPC encourages community members, organizations, and partners to help spread the word and join in making this year’s Juneteenth Celebration the largest and most connected
celebration yet.
About MUNPC:
Since 1979, the Mid-Utica Neighborhood Preservation Corporation has worked to unite
community, reduce blight, and preserve the cultural and social fabric of Utica’s neighborhoods. As a historically Black organization with a mission to build and preserve our community, culture and history, MUNPC continues to support community connection, cultural programming, youth engagement, and neighborhood-based initiatives throughout Utica.
