Juneteenth at the Beach – Celebrating Freedom - Wednesday, June 19, 2024

Seattle actress, public speaker, and master storyteller Eva Abram will tell the Juneteenth Story in a special presentation at the Juneteenth at the Beach – Celebrating Freedom event on Wednesday, June 19, 2024 from 11am to 2pm on the grounds of the Edmonds Waterfront Center, 220 Railroad Ave, Edmonds, WA.

The annual Festival of Freedom event will include free food, book reading circles by adults to children, storytelling, music, and a free musical film presentation of “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised).” 

The event is organized by Lift Every Voice Legacy (LEVL) and the Edmonds Waterfront Center (EWC) with assistance from the City of Edmonds Parks and Recreation Department.

Eva Abram

“Eva is not only an avid lover of history but performs a variety of African American and multicultural stories for adult and children audiences throughout the Puget Sound area in a variety of venues. 

"Her masterful use of gestures, body language, character voices, and expressions brings characters to life and richly captivates her listeners,” said Donnie Griffin, LEVL Founder and President. 

“She is one of our favorite presenters,” Griffin added.

As a primary sponsor of legislation making June 19th a paid holiday for Washington State employees in 2021, Rep. Strom Peterson, D-Edmonds, will deliver opening remarks on America’s newest holiday.

“Being a recipient of the Snohomish County Office of Social Justice (OSJ) community sponsorship initiative, Mr. Peterson will also be wearing his county councilmember hat as well,” said Robin Ullman, EWC Director of Operations and Outreach.

“We appreciate his leadership in equity and justice matters here in Edmonds and throughout our county,” commented Ullman.

Juneteenth – also known as Emancipation Day and Freedom Day – is a portmanteau of June 19 and marks the day when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 and informed the last enslaved outpost of African Americans in the Confederate South that they were no longer under bondage.