Saturday block party planned to celebrate Juneteenth

By Susan Pugh

Published: June 19, 2008

It’s time for a celebration.

Part of Monroe Street — the blocks around the Legacy Museum — will be closed to traffic Saturday for the annual Juneteenth Freedom and Heritage Celebration.

There will be drumming, choirs, musicians, praise dancing, people reading poetry and the Emancipation Proclamation, politicians shaking hands, health and safety screenings, a black history tour of the Old City Cemetery and tours of Legacy’s new exhibit, “For Our Own Good: African American Civic and Social Groups in Central Virginia.” There will be food, crafts and vendors.

And there will be — drum roll — a big reveal.

People will get to see a newly rehabilitated house that has been turned into the Legacy Activity Center for its next-door neighbor, the museum.

The center will get its first real use, with some Juneteenth activities taking place within its walls.

“We’re real excited about that building,” said Phyllistine Mosley, a member of the museum board and its Buildings and Grounds Committee.

Space in the museum, a converted Victorian at 430 Monroe St., is already taken up by exhibits and offices. That raised the question: What to do when the museum wants to host various community activities and programs geared to children and youth?

“We saw a real need,” said Cheryl Robinson, the museum administrator.

So the museum bought the house next door, thanks to money from donors, trusts, the city and many members of the community.

The rehab work is now done.

“(It’s the result of) a lot of hard work, fundraising and pulling it all together,” Mosley said. “We still have a lot of work to do.”

That includes furnishing and equipping the building, as well as working out the nitty-gritty such as specific activities and hours.

The museum and its Friends of the Legacy Activity Center have been working with local businesses, community organizations and individuals. Mosley and Robinson said the museum welcomes input — and volunteers.

Once details have been worked out, then comes the really big reveal: a grand opening for the activity center in the fall.

If you’re going
WHAT: Juneteenth Freedom and Heritage Celebration
WHEN: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Monroe Street on blocks around the Legacy Museum