Shawnee’s Juneteenth Celebration & Dunbar Heights Community Reunion all-day June 18 event will kick off with a parade. Parade participants will assemble at the Santa Fe Depot beginning at 8:45 am, for a 9:30 start. It will run west on Main Street, ending at Bell and 7th streets.
The theme of the parade will be “Coming Back, Together,” and entrants may sign up on the day of the event, said Dunbar Heights Community President Timmy Young.
At 10:30 am, a Prayer Service will be held in the pavilion at Bell and 7th. Several church leaders from different communities will be involved, led by Rev. Daryl Fields, the pastor of Union Missionary Baptist Church.
At noon, pickleball lessons will be available at OBU’s RecWell before a Pickleball Tournament starts at 1 pm and runs until 6:30 pm. Shawnee Forward is organizing the tournament.
“Shawnee Forward wanted to find a way to support the Juneteenth Celebration,” said Shawnee Forward Marketing & Events Director Kimberly Davis. “In collaboration with Timmy Young and the Juneteenth planning committee, we decided to offer a Pickleball Tournament as our contribution to the observance of prayer, feasting, song and dance of the federal holiday, Juneteenth.”
Davis said all ages and skill levels are welcome to join in the tournament, and they hope more teams will sign up at bit.ly/SFPickleball. Young said there are currently more than 20 teams. If the community enjoys this event, Davis said they will bring it back next year.
“Shawnee Forward’s hope for this event is to bring additional people to Shawnee to celebrate Juneteenth and our Dunbar Heights community,” said Davis. “We also hope that this is a great activity for all ages.”
“We are thankful for the investment of Dunbar Heights, OBU, City of Shawnee, CPN, and COCAA to create an inclusive weekend celebrating the diversity of our community.”
“The great Rachael Melot is the brainchild behind this wonderful idea to get more people involved in the celebration,” Young said. “Keri Foster, City of Shawnee Park & Recreation Dept., and Kimberly Davis were also instrumental in its development.”
From 2-4 pm, a Dunbar Heights History Presentation will be held at the Paul & Ann Milburn Center featuring photos from Dunbar High School curated by the Pottawatomie County Historical Society.
The Dunbar Heights Community Reunion will be held at the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Powwow Grounds, on South Gordon Cooper Drive, from 2-11 pm.
At 6 pm, there will be lessons in dominoes led by a team of people who can teach the rules. A Domino Tournament will begin at 6:30 pm.
“Dominoes is a social construct in the community where no one group dominates based on age, sex or the degree of trash talking,” said Young. “Players will discuss anything brought to the table while playing, and most topics will have laughter. One common phrase that you’ll always hear is, ‘If you study long, you’ll study wrong.’ ”
If dominoes isn’t an interest, also at 6 pm is “Soulful Stories.” There will be several storytellers, including art contest students and members of the Dunbar Heights Community.
“These are stories told by individuals who experienced the ‘real situation,’ and expressions from their feelings are shared,” said Young. “These are stories from the heart that will touch someone else, and good storytellers will pull you into a moment with them and make you think that you are part of the story. Ms. Brady Winrow was an expert at it.”
Young said Melyn Johnson, of the Guymon community, shared the idea with him, and he was also inspired by the Chickasaw Nation “Profiles of a Nation” commercials.
“It is just something all communities can do at no cost, and hopefully others will receive inspiration to tell their story,” he said.
At 7 pm, the Juneteenth Program - emceed by Sha’kyah Morris - will feature music, a fashion show, and speakers.
Anice Gillmore-Young will be the main musical artist for the evening.
“She grew up in the Dunbar Heights Community and has been singing for years at a higher level, which has provided her to be on many stages,” said Young. “She resembles Aretha Franklin, and her voice can be felt deep into your soul and makes you wish you could hit that note yourself.”
The fashion show will be hosted by Marie Tubbs, who will introduce her models.
Last year’s Juneteenth celebration was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, when the mask mandate was lifted just three weeks before June 19.
“There (were) no plans to host a celebration, but when we knew that we could pull something off, Travis Burdine and Jamelle Payne made a plan, and it happened,” said Young.
This year, there were many more people coming together to make a bigger and better celebration.
“This is a collaborative effort among the DHC, Citizen Potawatomi Nation, the City of Shawnee, Shawnee Forward and many other citizens of this great community,” said Young. “No one person (or) entity can take full credit; we work well as a team.”
Young said he looks forward to “seeing the people from the community that I usually only see at funerals,” and he hopes to share the true meaning of Juneteenth with people.
“We want to see more unity, more diversity and more smiles as we learn what this holiday is really about: freedom for all citizens, equality for every American, including the descendants of former slaves,” he said.
“People can expect to see diversity in all areas of the celebration, to see pictures and hear stories that they have never heard before. During our Soulful Stories, we’ll hear experiences from each individual sharing what they felt at ‘That moment when….’ Some will share instances that multiple people witnessed, but their story is a little different than others.”
“There will be plenty of trash talking at the domino table which is just part of our culture,” he added.
Young added that the City of Shawnee would give youth a free day pass to Shawnee Splash Water Park if they help the event staff for a couple of hours.
For more information or to learn about other events happening this weekend, check out https://events. visitshawnee.com/.
