While Juneteenth celebrations around the Des Moines metro kicked off over the weekend, many more celebrations are scheduled throughout the next week.
Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. Iowa Juneteenth Observance puts on events throughout the Des Moines metro to commemorate the holiday. The vast majority of them free and open to the public.
Those range from a panel with older community members talking about history and taking questions, to a park celebration with food and entertainment, to a drive-in movie.
Iowa Juneteenth General Chairperson Dwana Bradley said all community members are welcome at these events.
"Juneteenth is about elevating the voices of African Americans across the state of Iowa. But that doesn't mean that you're not invited to our celebration. So I want to make sure to stress that we want everyone to be a part of celebrating freedom with us," she said.
Bradley said the group began a 19-day fundraising effort at the start of the month. Bradley said they are donating half of all the proceeds to the Quad Cities Community Foundation Recovery Fund to support those affected by the building collapse in Davenport.
"That can happen anywhere in any place at any time. And so I wanted to be a part of what I could do. And that was something that we're able to do, and I think we all could do together. So from a penny on up, we'll take it. It all adds up. And we want to be a blessing to our neighbors in Davenport," she said.
Other communities across Iowa will also hold Juneteenth celebrations. Events will be held in Cedar Rapids, the Quad Cities, Iowa City and more.
Bradley said she's been helping residents in Ottumwa begin their own Juneteenth celebrations. That event will be on June 19, at Ottumwa Central Park.
