Juneteenth Cultural Festival celebrates community but also highlights Black-owned businesses

Dozens of vendors from Black-owned businesses, food trucks and musicians took over much of the Hicksville Long Island Rail Road station's parking lot Saturday to celebrate Juneteenth, and also to support and celebrate the local economy.

Advertised as "Long Island's biggest Juneteenth cultural celebration," the annual Juneteenth Cultural Festival drew hundreds of visitors and roughly 60 businesses.

"Mainly the focus is to highlight the Black small-business owners and entrepreneurs all over the Island," said Phil Andrews, the president of the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce, in a phone interview Friday about the event.

"That’s really the purpose of the organization and the purpose of supporting Juneteenth in general," Andrews added.

The chamber, along with groups such as Black Legacy Partners and the NAACP Hempstead Branch, was among the organizations hosting the event.

Entrepreneur Rednael Celestin, who owns Omega Sun, a product line of natural oils and haircare products, ran a booth at the festival for the first time Saturday after attending the event the past four years.

"I hope to leave here with more people, more customers, more experience and just have an overall cultural experience,” said Celestin, of Brooklyn.

Nordia Ricketts-Kelley's Sweet Mouth Jamaican Food Pastries and Tings food truck had people lining up for Jamaican and American food.

“Some time ago, we couldn’t own businesses and be in areas like this," said Ricketts-Kelley, who runs the truck with her husband. "Having the opportunity to be among people, share with people of all different races and come together — community is the biggest thing."

Business owners chatted with their neighbors at the next booth. Passersby, some of them entire families, enjoyed the sunny weather as they walked and talked while browsing the festival's wares.

"It’s nice to bring the whole family out, just walk around and celebrate the occasion," said Andre Lamy, 49, of Freeport.

Lamy, who attended with his wife and two children, said the event gives his family "a chance to not only see different Black-owned businesses, but also understand why we want to support them."

"Juneteenth is an important part of American history,” said Julie Dade-Howard, 70, of Huntington Station, of the occasion that commemorates the end of slavery and marks the day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, were informed of their freedom. “It is important to pay notice to that, and to use it as an opportunity to empower, educate and celebrate."

Barbara Powell, president of the NAACP’s Hempstead branch, said Saturday she hoped to educate the community on what the organization offers.

"We fight for what’s right, for human and civil rights," Powell said at the NAACP booth. "We touch on education, healthcare, and we disseminate information to the community."

While the event gives Long Islanders a place to share culture and celebrate, Andrews noted that it is important to remember the history behind the holiday, too.

"Sometimes we go on as a society, and a lot of history and culture is lost," Andrews said. "We as African Americans are deeply American, even though we have a history that is different from any other people in America."