The first time Juneteenth was celebrated anywhere in the North Country area was in 2014, in Watertown, NY, after a U.S. Army soldier from Texas, who was stationed at Fort Drum asked, "Hey, why don't we do what they do where I'm from? In 1979, Texas had become the first of what would be many to make Juneteenth a state holiday, recognizing the celebrations that people of African descent had conceived there in 1865 and carried around the country. In 2021, Juneteenth became a national holiday symbolically commemorating the ending of slavery throughout America, not just the arrival of union soldiers (including those of African descent) in Galveston, Texas, which is how this change had to be enforced in many states for over a decade (1865-1877). The Watertown Juneteenth shares the spirit of inner joy, resilience and freedom and everyone is invited.