Buffalo’s Juneteenth Festival Needs Your Help For 50th Anniversary Celebration

For five decades, a group of friends, family, and neighbors has partnered together to put on one of the largest cultural festivals in Buffalo.

Juneteenth, a holiday dedicated to the unofficial ending of slavery in the United States, has been celebrated in some capacity since 1866 in America, and it all stems from the actions of Civil War era Union Major General Gordon Granger, who freed a bunch of slaves in June 1965, a full two years after former President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

READ MORE: Buffalo’s Juneteenth Festival Celebrating 50th Anniversary in 2026

The Buffalo festival, which started in 1976, was put together by a committee of people that included folks like Judson Price, Eugene Pierce, Gail Wells, Douglas Ruffin, Roosevelt Wardlaw, and others, to honor and understand Black heritage in America.

Since then, this humble festival has turned into the nation's largest.

Volunteers Are Needed For This Year's Juneteenth Festival

America's largest Juneteenth Festival is a key place for people to learn and immerse themselves in Black American Culture and history, but a two-day festival of this size needs your help. Volunteers are key to pulling off the festival, which includes a nearly one-mile-long parade and a street festival that takes over one of Buffalo's largest parks.

It truly takes a village to serve our legacy right, and if you are community-minded, the festival committee members want to hear from you.

READ MORE: Buffalo’s Juneteenth 50th Anniversary Is Honoring Our Past, Serving Our Present, Inspiring The Future

Organizers need your help and are looking for volunteers in every area, including people who can serve as Parade Marshals, leading children's activities, and helping work the teen entertainment stage. In addition to that, help is needed for health and wellness, setup and break down, logistics and operations, historical and cultural programs, leading praise and worship, along with city wide evnts like Sankofa Days, and more.

Plus, organizers are putting out a call for at least 50 drummers to help lead the way musically.

If this sounds like something you are interested in, the Juneteenth Festival wants to hear from you. You can sign up to be a volunteer here on the Juneteenth of Buffalo website.

Your help can make sure that the legacy of Juneteenth in Buffalo can continue for another 50 years.