by CJ Vetter ©The Port Lavaca Wave 2026
For more than 50 years, Port Lavaca has celebrated June 19, or Juneteenth, as the official end of slavery with traditions passed down the generations. Now, as Juneteenth 2026 comes near, current organizers continue to honor those traditions while incorporating new ways to celebrate.
Juneteenth committee members Tony Taft and Rose-Bland Stewart recalled their own experiences with the now nationally recognized holiday back when it was run by DJ Williams in 1974. Originally hosted at George Adams Park, the celebration served as a way for families to come together within the community. Williams continued to host and attend the event up until his death in 2016, according to records from the Calhoun County Museum.
“Me and my brothers had a little garage band and we were one of the first bands to get on the stage. We were called the Together Brothers and we played a couple of songs and boy, we thought we were somebody,” Taft said. “Back then, it was the Progressive League and they started it with DJ Williams. DJ did almost all the ground work, all the cooking, all the coordinating. When he passed away, Bobby Barefield started, taking it over and they followed the exact same plan DJ did.”
As the celebration of Juneteenth continued onward, its organization would be passed from hand to hand. However, the three primary components remained the same, said Stewart: One day of family fun with food provided, one night of music and one morning of gospel started with a fish fry.
“It has become a tradition to have a band every year, to feed everybody for free on Saturday and to have a fish fry on Sunday,” Stewart said.
The largest disruption so far, Taft said, came in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to gathering restrictions, the Juneteenth celebration came to an end for two years until restarting in 2022. Stewart would join later in 2023.
“I got in about three years ago, and we’re just continuing to do it. We’ve got about 20 members with the Helping Hands group that help with the event, so that’s how we got involved,” Stewart said. “I used to love going out to Juneteenth because it was a family orientated event, and you got to see all the people come back.”
In records provided from the Calhoun County Museum, other traditions have also survived through the years in some form or another. One such tradition included parades around or near George Wilson Park, such as one held in 2022, where participants journeyed to the Wilkins School in observation of its legacy as the first Black school in Calhoun County.
“There were three groups involved when I first came aboard, our little group, Calhoun Citizens in Action and the Wilkins Alumni Inc. I then asked if we can have the representatives from the city of Port Lavaca come to our meeting, since they were able to put on things like Iguana Fest and the 4th of July event,” Taft said. “Overall, we just realized we have so much history here.”
Another tradition that the organizers are trying to revive, Taft said, includes repairing a grill trailer used in previous Juneteenth events.
“We had a barbecue pit at the Sunlight Girl’s Club, that’s where they served from. It’s still out there, and we plan on asking the welding class at Calhoun High School to fix it up,” Taft said.
Joining the Juneteenth organizing committee in 2024, Taft said he came aboard the same year in which the local celebration saw its biggest change yet — the swap from George Adams Park to the Bayfront Peninsula Park. The change, Stewart added, saw some pushback from those who had been visiting the park for decades, but proved to be more suited for the crowd’s older adults.
“We’re very fortunate now that we have the city onboard to help us out. We don’t know how DJ did it. He had a lot of help from different people, but now we as a community are able to put this together,” Stewart said.
The 2026 celebration, Taft said, is going to include a few additions as well. Alongside plans to include a large-scale bubble machine, the service on Sunday will also feature a gospel band. Still scheduled at Bayfront Peninsula Park, this year’s event will be another opportunity for the community to come together, Stewart said.
“Please come out and support the event. We want the whole city to be here with us,” Stewart said.
For more information on the event, visit www.facebook.com/PortLavacaJuneteenth. The event lasts from June 19-21 and admission is free.
Reposted with the permission of the Port Lavaca Wave https://www.portlavacawave.com/articles/2002/view/juneteenth-celebration-honors-traditions-and-freedom
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