World Refugee Day is observed all over the world by thousands of people, and "Juneteenth", officially observed on June 19th, is the day that commemorates the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of slavery in the United States. Saturday's events will begin at 6pm with a personal meditation and prayer, offering flowers for refugees around the world, to take place at the river access area behind the Daniels building. This will be followed by a drum and dance procession, led by Ghanaian Jordan Mensah, that will travel to Hardwick Townhouse, where there will be a sharing of food and refreshments, and dance party featuring the Winooski-based group A2VT. Suggested donation $15.
The young men in the Winooski-based group A2VT came to Vermont as refugees (from Congo, Tanzania, and Somalia), formed their group as teenagers, and produced the hit single "Winooski My Town" (their video can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDL5IjG98iM )
EXTRA INFO: Several performers and speakers are travling and taking leave from their regular employment in order to boost this event, and presently there are no sponsors - and only two volunteers working alone to put this together. Please help honor these important dates by attending this event if you are able, sharing this information with friends, donating money to help guarantee that the performers will not be losing money by contributing their performances, or if possible, volunteering to help with some of the production tasks, such as bringing food to the event, finding and setting up a sound system,etc. Any monetary donations (and some in-kind donations) are tax-deductible through the Hardwick-based 501(c)3 organization "PanAshé International", which is dedicated to utilizing music and creative expression as tools for social change. It is important to recognize over 60 million people worldwide who are living in extremely life-threatening and challenging circumstances as refugees; and also to recognize the milestone of Juneteenth for all African-Americans, who continue to struggle greatly to be treated with equal respect and opportunity as citizens of our country.