Music in the Park is joining forces with Juneteenth Festival to present a wonderful musical event taking place on June 20, 2015 from 10:00 in the morning until 9:00 at night. Charles Sumner Post #25, Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) celebrates its first anniversary as a restored historic building with musical performances, tours of the historic building, laying of a wreath in honor of the U.S.C.T. (U.S.Colored Troops) at Memorial Park in Chestertown, activities for children, and soul food, including chitlins, crab cakes, fish and more.
Musical groups which will perform throughout the Festival include Vaughn Bratcher; Brian Black & Diamonds in the Rough; Pam and Bob Ortiz; Sensational Stars; The Simmons Family; The Pilgrim Travelers; Doc Mason and Marilyn Holy Ghost Band & Show; Andre Sisco & Chris Copper; and The Garfield Gang plus Friends doing music of the Civil War era.
At noon the audience will move from the Festival site on South Queen Street to Monument Park, corner Cross and High Street in Chestertown for the ceremonial wreath laying at the Colored Soldiers Monument. Reenactors from B Company, 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, drummers of Mr. Leon Frision’s Kent County Middle School Band, members of the Buffalo Soldiers will join in the ceremony.
Keynote speaker, Dr. Clara L. Small, recently retired from her professorship in history at Salisbury University where she taught for thirty-six years. Her fields include Civil Rights in American Society, African American history, Racism and Discrimination, and much more. Her most recent publication is Compass Points: Profiles and Biographies of African Americans from the Delmarva Peninsula, Vol. 1 (2014). Among her many honors and recognitions is her appointment to the Governor’s Commission to Coordinate the Study, Commemoration, and Impact of the History and Legacy of Slavery in Maryland.
The Bratcher Project will perform at 2:30 pm. Developed by Vaughn Bratcher who assembles a rotating group of talented musicians to perform genres of music that lean slightly outside the mainstream, it intertwines traditional and contemporary jazz and R&B stylings. Bratcher, a native of our region has performed locally at the Chestertown Jazz Festival and continues to play at festivals and events throughout Maryland.
June 20, 2015 Juneteenth Festival Schedule of Events – 10 am – 9pm
10:00 Brian Black
10:30 Pam and Bob Ortiz
11:00 Simmons Family- Mary, Dave and Jon
11:30 Sensational Stars
Noon Wreath laying ceremony at Monument Park
1:00 Pilgrim Travelers- Allen Johnson
1:30 Robert Earl Price- Poetry
1:45 Dr. Clara L. Small – Keynote Speech
2:30 Bratcher Project- Vaughn Bratcher Jazz
4:00 Doc Stevens & Marilyn- Holy Ghost Band & Show
5:00 Presentations
7:00 Garfield Gang and Friends- Music of the Civil War Era
8:00 Andre Sisco & Chris Copper
This free festival is at 206 South Queen Street, with food vendors in the meadow and music under the tent. Sponsored by Kent County Arts Council, Hedgelawn Foundation, M.O.T.A. of Kent County and generous community members.