REXBURG— The Community Heritage Committee of Eastern Idaho celebrates its third annual “Juneteenth: An Evening at the Colonial.” Through music and storytelling, the public can learn the history and significance of Juneteenth. The free admission event will be held on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Colonial Theater in Idaho Falls.
Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021. It is a holiday that celebrates the official end of slavery in the United States. It took over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation for all slaves to be freed.
Chloe Doucette, a project lead for the Juneteenth celebration, invites the public to attend.
“We thought that there was a real opportunity to give people the chance to understand why Juneteenth is something that we can all be proud of as a federal holiday for everyone that's an American,” Doucette said.
Doucette calls Juneteenth an extension of the freedom rights Americans celebrates on the 4th of July. In the Declaration of Independence, the founding fathers set the framework for “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Music will fill the night as local musicians, the Idaho Falls Symphony String Quartet and the Eastern Idaho Jazz Society Ensemble will perform. The jazz and symphonic music will explore the impact of African Americans on American culture. Executive director of the Idaho Falls Symphony Carrie Athay will be a musical guide to take the audience through the experience explaining the history of the music.
“It's going to be a really interesting and fun to look to see and highlight some of those stories and some of those composers that have really brought forth those kinds of emotions, those kinds of stories in their compositions,” Doucette said.
Another aspect of the celebration will be storytelling. Doucette partnered with Jim Francis, committee co-chair, to write a reader’s theater about Juneteenth. It will be 30-minute performance by students ages 9 to 17.
“The reader’s theater starts sort of by talking about slavery in America and that experience, and then it moves all the way through to the establishing of Juneteenth as a federal holiday in 2021,” Doucette said.
“Juneteenth: An Evening at Colonial” is an opportunity to learn more and celebrate as a community.
The Colonial Theater is located at 450 A St. In Idaho Falls. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. To learn more go to https://www.idahofallsarts.org.