The city of Aurora is preparing to celebrate the upcoming Juneteenth holiday with a week of community events and activities, beginning with the Mr. and Miss Black Aurora Crowning Ceremony on Thursday and concluding on Juneteenth on June 19 with the annual flag-raising ceremony, city officials said.
At 6 p.m. on Thursday, the city of Aurora and the Aurora African American Heritage Advisory Board will host the Mr. and Miss Black Aurora Crowning Ceremony at Aurora University’s Crimi Auditorium, 1347 Prairie St. in Aurora, according to a press release from the city.
A competition of high school students, the ceremony will announce the king, queen, prince and princess of the Aurora Black Heritage Royal Court, according to the release. The ceremony will feature presentations from the students, performances from local youth groups and a keynote address from Fox 32 Chicago Anchor Anita Blanton, who was crowned Miss Hampton University 20 years ago in 2004, city officials said.
At 9 a.m. on Friday, nearly 150 members of Black fraternities and sororities will convene at Phillips Park at 1000 Ray Moses Drive in Aurora to provide food to 1,000 families ahead of the Juneteenth and Father’s Day Weekend, city officials said.
A collaboration between the city of Aurora; the Northern Illinois Food Bank; and the Aurora Divine 9 Alliance, a coalition of members of the nine historically Black fraternities and sororities, this is the fourth annual Juneteenth Food Distribution Drive-Thru that provides meal boxes, including meat and produce, on a first-come, first-served basis to 1,000 families.
At noon on Saturday, the city of Aurora and the Quad County African American Chamber of Commerce will cut the ribbon on a new addition to Aurora’s business landscape, the release stated.
Business owners Donna Jolly and Steven Evans have opened HaloHeat Sauna Studios at at 4040 Fox Valley Drive, a studio designed to enhance health, promote relaxation and foster a community of wellness enthusiasts, according to the release.
From 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, the 23rd annual Juneteenth Freedom and Heritage Celebration will be hosted by African American Men of Unity, the city of Aurora and Aurora Township at Martin Luther King Park, 42 N. Farnsworth Ave. in Aurora.
The celebration will feature live music, educational activities, a talent show, basketball tournaments and more, officials said.
At 1 p.m. on Tuesday, June 18, Aurora’s newest downtown mural will be inaugurated with a meet the muralist and ribbon-cutting ceremony at the site of the mural, 31 S. Broadway in downtown Aurora.
Chicago-based artist Max Sansing has used his talents to give a nod to the historic Bluebird Records recording sessions of the 1930s at the Leland Hotel in downtown Aurora, according to the release. The mural features the likenesses of Chicago blues legend Buddy Guy, the “Queen of Blues” Koko Taylor, the “King of Blues” B.B. King, guitar wizard Tampa Red and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
From 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 19, the annual Juneteenth Youth Summit will bring together nearly 150 Black youth from the Aurora area for a morning of educational workshops at North Island Center, 8 E. Galena Blvd. in Aurora.
With the theme, “A Different World,” a nod to the television sitcom about Black college life, the youth summit will feature workshops on college planning, financial preparation, interacting with the police and a conversation with Black superintendents of Aurora school districts, according to the release.
Then, at 1 p.m. that day, youth summit participants will merge with community members at the annual Aurora Juneteenth Flag-Raising Ceremony, named in honor of the late trailblazer Scheketa Hart-Burns, a longtime Aurora City Council member who passed away unexpectedly on June 19, 2023.
The flag-raising ceremony at One Aurora Plaza, 8 E. Galena Blvd. in downtown Aurora, will feature a presentation of the annual proclamation and heritage awards, guest speakers Maj. Gen. Rodney Boyd, commander of the Illinois National Guard and the first Black person to hold the post, and ABC 7 News Culture and Race Reporter Jasmine Minor; and entertainment from saxophonist Derek Tate, Dream Dance Academy and the award-winning 40+ Double Dutch Club, city officials said.
For more on Aurora’s Juneteenth activities, go to www.aurora-il.org/Juneteenth2024
