June 19 marks a seminal date in American history. Officially known as Juneteenth National Independence Day, or Juneteenth, the holiday commemorates the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation at the end of the American Civil War in Texas in 1865. While Juneteenth has been celebrated around the country ever since, it only became a federal holiday in 2021.

The celebration of this holiday is alive in well throughout Sarasota, particularly at Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe’s (WBTT) Juneteenth Arts Festival, held on June 19 and 20. The two-day festival, the fourth of its kind at WBTT, has only grown in scale since its inception. The arts festival was created by WBTT education department as one, an opportunity for local Sarasotans to celebrate the holiday, and two, to grow awareness of WBTT as a platform for young performing artists. “Our goal when we started this festival was to let people know in Newtown, St. Pete and Tampa, that in addition to having wonderful main stage performances here at Westcoast, we also have a robust education department that puts on programs for the community,” says Peterly Jean Baptiste, education and outreach associate at WBTT. “We offer dance classes, acting classes, a summer camp—we’re all about education and fostering a community.”

This year’s Juneteenth Arts Festival begins on Friday evening, where attendees can view the Juneteenth Arts Gallery, which features artifacts from The African-American Cultural Resource Center, digital illustration works from Tampa Bay artists Yosnier Miranda and African face jugs from local ceramicist Osa Atoe. The night continues with a performance on WBTT’s mainstage, Beats, Words & Movement. Directed and hosted by WBTT founder and artistic director Nate Jacobs, the presentation showcases local talent through a variety of mediums including song and spoken word poetry. “We’ve been engaging with some of the local talent, trying to encourage a younger generation to come into the theater and know that it's available for them as both a place to see shows and to perform,” says Jim Weaver, director of education/assistant artistic director. “We have a combination of people that are performing spoken word poetry, vocalists singing original songs, an African drumming group and some dancers.”

Saturday’s festivities feature performances from student and mainstage performers at WBTT as well as screenings of short films from local filmmakers. The evening will conclude with a special performance of WBTT Brian L. Boyd’s ENIGMA.

WBTT Juneteenth Arts Festival, Free and open to the public, June 19 and 20, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1012 N Orange Ave., Sarasota.