It is said that the first Juneteenth may have occurred in 1911 after Black leader Booker T. Washington visited Arizona and gave a speech at Eastlake Park in Phoenix. Since then, Juneteenth has come to be recognized as the official commemoration of African American emancipation, freedom, and achievement, celebrated with guest speakers, family gatherings, picnics, and more. Looking for the best ways to celebrate Juneteenth in Phoenix? We've got you covered.

Juneteenth Events

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Miss Juneteenth Arizona 2026

June 12

Please join us for the 2026 Miss Juneteenth Arizona Scholarship Pageant, celebrating Juneteenth and focusing on empowering young women by promoting education, community service, and cultural awareness. Contestants in the pageant are judged on their poise, talent, understanding of current events, and knowledge of Juneteenth and its significance. 

Chandler Center for the Arts

 

13th Annual Juneteenth Celebration at Tempe History Museum

June 20

The African-American Advisory Committee presents the 13th Annual Juneteenth Celebration to educate the community and celebrate freedom from enslavement in the United States. The celebration will be held at Tempe History Museum, 809 E Southern Avenue, Tempe, 85282. This free, family-friendly event will include hands-on activities, performances, vendors, story time, a video game trailer, Police and Fire vehicles, food truck vendor and more!

Tempe History Museum

 

22st Annual Valley of the Sun Juneteenth Celebration 2026

June 13

The event features fun for the entire family. Highlights include live entertainment, educational workshops and presentations, children’s activities, arts and crafts, games and prizes, retail and resource vendors and free health screenings. Each year, we recognize community youth and award student scholarships. This is a fee event with free parking!

Eastlake Park

 

Culture Music in the Park: Juneteenth 2026

June 13

Join us for a night filled with unity, joy, and vibrant cultural expression. Groove to live performances by Vaughn Willis and Ear Candy, setting the perfect vibe for a celebration of freedom and diversity. Adding a touch of elegance and inspiration, the evening will be emceed by the newly crowned Ms. Juneteenth 2026–27.

Dr. A.J. Chandler Park

 

Buckeye Juneteenth Celebration

June 20

Welcome to Juneteenth, Buckeye, AZ! Join us at Buckeye Elementary School for a day filled with celebration and community. This in-person event will feature live music, food vendors, local artisans, and more. Come together with friends and family to honor and commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. Let's embrace our history and culture while enjoying a fun-filled day in Buckeye. 

Buckeye Elementary School

 

6th Annual West Valley Juneteenth Celebration

June 13

Join us as we come together to celebrate culture, community, and freedom at the West Valley Juneteenth Celebration! Bring your family, bring your friends, and come experience an afternoon filled with unity, joy, and community pride. We’ll have competitions, contests, a vibrant marketplace, youth activities, and more—something for everyone to enjoy!

La Joya Community High School

 

6th Annual Rybe Juneteenth Celebration

June 20

Celebrate freedom, culture, and unity at the 6th Annual RYBE Juneteenth Freedom Celebration! This exciting event is packed with performances, live entertainment, educational experiences, and fun activities for the whole family. Join us as we honor the legacy of Juneteenth through music, art, and community engagement.

Arizona Center

 

Carver's Juneteenth Freedom Day Festival

June 13

Mark your calendars for our Juneteenth event on June 13, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center. Enjoy a vibrant festival featuring live music, delicious food, arts and crafts, storytelling, local vendors, exhibits, a DJ, dancing, and much more!

George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center

 

Downtown Tempe Juneteenth Block Party

June 19

The Downtown Tempe Juneteenth brings the block party energy to Downtown Tempe and is an event like no other! Join us for a free, all-ages event featuring live music, dance battles and performances, soul food trucks, an on-site bar, a pop-up roller rink, interactive art and activities, and so much more in celebration of Black history and culture.

CenterPoint on Mill, Tempe

 

The Family Reunion - A Juneteenth Celebration

June 19

Come celebrate with BlackNet AZ for their 3rd Annual Juneteenth Celebration. We’re talking 12 hours of freedom, food, music, culture, and community right in the heart of Phoenix. With 5,000+ attendees expected throughout the day, The Family Reunion is the largest Juneteenth celebration in Arizona, created for us by us.

Free food. Live entertainment. Local artists. Spades and Dominoes tournaments. Line dancing. Community panels. Kids' activities. Local business and community resource vendors. And so much more.

Walter Studios

 

Juneteenth at Phoenix Art Museum

June 13

Phoenix Art Museum is celebrating Juneteenth on Saturday, June 13, in collaboration with Black Rodeo USA Foundation. To perfectly align with Black Rodeo’s highly anticipated evening events, we’ve partnered to host Museum-wide programming earlier that same day, creating a full-day itinerary for our community.

Kick off the day’s festivities with discounted admission all day long. Your ticket includes access to the Museum including our special-engagement exhibitions Eric Fischl: Stories Told and Florentine Baroque: The Haukohl Collection, plus a full afternoon of interactive Kids Day activities. Afterwards, make your way over to the Valley of the Sun JUNETEENTH Celebration for additional fun for the entire family.

Phoenix Art Museum

 

Juneteenth Family Day 2026

June 19

The 5th Annual Juneteenth Family Day will take place on Friday, June 19, from 6 to 10 p.m. at a brand-new location, Goodyear High School. This year's theme is "Homecoming," celebrating the traditions, culture, and experiences surrounding an HBCU homecoming celebration.

Enjoy a dynamic lineup of educational speeches, live performances, and interactive activities both indoors and outdoors. Discover the history and significance of Juneteenth, connect through hands-on workshops, and celebrate with your community. 

Goodyear High School

 

Juneteenth at Arizona Heritage Center

June 14

Please join us for our FREE Juneteenth Celebration to mark historic emancipation and struggles for freedom including the freedom of movement seen through the migration of African American families and individuals to Arizona. The event will include live performances, educational tables, incredible speakers, food, and refreshments.

Embassy Suites Tempe

Eastlake Park

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Eastlake Park has been the focal point of Phoenix's Black history for most of its existence, becoming a haven where people of color could meet, relax, and celebrate without violating the laws that existed during these times. It is home to numerous civil rights rallies, Martin Luther King Jr. celebrations, memorials, and festivities, and was the starting point of many civil rights marches to the Arizona State Capital.  Eastlake Park also hosts an annual Juneteenth celebration –  a tradition that the space has hosted since the early 1920s.

Eastlake Park, 1910s

Black-Owned Businesses in Phoenix

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Mrs. White's Golden Rule Cafe

Known as one of the oldest family-owned soul food restaurants, Mrs. White’s Golden Rule Cafe has been serving timeless southern classics to Phoenix for over 50 years. Founder Elizabeth White, the namesake for Mrs. White, owns the restaurant with her son Larry White Sr. Although she is retired at age 100, she still returns to the restaurant to check up on things. Located in the heart of downtown Phoenix, the cafe has become an OG Phoenix staple. Some of Mrs. White’s famous dishes include southern fried chicken, fried catfish, smothered chicken, and peach cobbler. Elizabeth has an extra special connection to her restaurant and its location. She started Mrs. White’s Golden Rule Cafe amid the peak of the Civil Rights Movement. She withstood the Great Depression and remained in the Jefferson Street neighborhood to see Phoenix transform as residences became commercial areas. Elizabeth’s grandson, Larry White Jr., now owns an array of restaurants throughout the greater Phoenix area including Monroe’s Hot Chicken and the Lo-Lo’s Chicken & Waffles chain.

 

Jacob Cutino

has spent his fair share of time in some of the Valley’s top restaurants, including Fox Restaurant Concepts and Bootleggers, working both the front and back of the house. It all began when owner Jacob Cutino’s stepfather had a secret, killer habanero sauce. For years he kept the recipe to himself, and only trial and error and Jacobs’ persistence allowed him to recreate his own version. In 2017, a partnership was born with renowned chef and pizza guru Chris Bianco, a longtime fan of Cutino’s sauce. The collaboration allows the Cutino Sauce Co. to bring more great flavors to an even larger audience.  

 

Huss Brewing Company

Chip Mulala is the self-proclaimed Minister of Craft Beer who's been saving souls one pint at a time for more than 13 years. According to Chip, craft beer from Arizona is filled with inspiration and a sense of place. He is a past president of the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild, and the director of sales and marketing for Huss Brewing Company, where he’s helped grow the husband-and-wife-run company into Arizona’s third-largest producing brewery. 

 

LATHA

Swahili for flavor, celebrates Africa and the diaspora’s rich and diverse cuisines. The menu honors the interconnected journey of the foodways and culture of Africa, Brazil, the Caribbean, and the Southern US. A native of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Chef Digby Stridiron grew up around what many today call the “slow food” movement—fresh, locally harvested ingredients, and proteins gathered from the sea just steps away. Digby served as a culinary ambassador for the U.S. Virgin Islands and has earned mentions in USA Today’s 10 Best and Carib Journal’s Top 50 Best.   

 

The Diaspora Collective

houses both LATHA and Soko and exists as a place to celebrate, connect, discover, experience, and honor the food, art, culture, music, and people of Africa and the African diaspora. Soko is a curated marketplace that offers a diverse selection of goods, skillfully created or designed by Black artisans. 

 

Archwood Exchange

 

As the host and organizer of the Buy Black Marketplace, Archwood Exchange is dubbed a hub for Black business in Phoenix. Thanks to its cooperative-inspired setup, this is where businesses can sell their products in a pop-up, brick-and-mortar environment without the high costs of overhead. The online shop also offers an eclectic mix of fashion and accessories, such as graphic T-shirts and straw hats. 

 

Grassrootz Bookstore

Arizona’s only Black-owned bookstore is in the Historic Eastlake Park District in Phoenix. Created to be a community space for empowerment, enlightenment, and education, they feature niche books not typically purchased at the average chain bookstore. Each purchase helps to fund grassroots activism, education, and economic development efforts in Phoenix. 

 

The Nash

A jazz lounge in downtown Phoenix that is named after local Phoenix musician Lewis Nash. It originally opened in 2012 as a nonprofit educational center but has now grown into hosting large jazz performances. For performances, the Nash transforms into a jazz lounge with live instrumental performances and a choice of wines and craft beers. There are small snacks served at the Nash but no dinner service. 

 

Black Theatre Troupe

A historical Phoenix organization that was founded in 1970 by former city worker Helen K. Mason. Their mission then is the same as it is presently, to create a platform for Black artists to showcase their talents and advocate for the representation of Black arts and culture in the city. The Black Theatre Troupe continues to provide wholesome live shows to the community at their state-of-the-art facility in downtown Phoenix that is only two blocks away from where the original location once stood.   

 

It’s All About You Holistic Studio

A family, woman and Black-owned business located near downtown Phoenix. This studio operates as a holistic spa that offers a variety of treatments from massages, steams, halotherapy and Reiki. Massages offered include hot stone, deep tissue, Swedish and therapeutic. The studio offers both Yoni and Lingam steams rooting back to the ancient practice among holistic healers. Their salt room allows guests to engage in a dry method of halotherapy. Reiki sessions are also available channeling the Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. Canine Reiki is also available for furry companions. 

For a more comprehensive list of black-owned businesses in Phoenix, check out our list. 

Black Faces + Places

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For three seasons, we’ve invited our audience to meet the tastemakers and trailblazers who are enriching our city with their flavors, traditions, culture and creations. If you’ve missed an episode of our signature storytelling series, now is your chance to find out more about these creators and hear them share what they love most about the Black community — and beyond — in Phoenix.