Asheville, Buncombe County announce free Juneteenth events and closures

Buncombe County and the City of Asheville are marking Juneteenth with a mix of closures and free public programs that move across Asheville from Stephens-Lee Community Center to A-B Tech. County offices close Friday, June 19, while the city shifts transit service and keeps parks and greenways open.

Buncombe County said emergency and public safety services will remain open, but a long list of offices will shut down for the holiday, including Buncombe County Libraries on Friday and Saturday, the Buncombe County Animal Shelter, Elections, CCBI, Emergency Services administration, the General Services Complex, the Family Justice Center, Health and Human Services, the Register of Deeds, the Tax Office and parks administration. Mountain Mobility will operate limited paratransit service, while regular Trailblazer route service and subscription-based trips will not run. County pools will be open, and the Sheriff’s Office front desk will be closed even as other operations continue as normal.

The City of Asheville will close its offices Friday and reopen Monday, June 22. Asheville Rides Transit buses will run on a Sunday schedule that day, and city parks and greenways will stay open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., though community centers and administrative offices will be closed. The city also plans to unveil a commemorative bench and marker at YMI Cultural Center honoring the collective experiences of Tropical Storm Helene in Western North Carolina.

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Asheville and Buncombe County, working with the city, is hosting and promoting a week of free Juneteenth events June 16-20. The association says the observance is meant to celebrate, remember, observe and honor the holiday, while fostering broad participation and community awareness. Tuesday’s “Celebrating the Community” program at Stephens-Lee Community Center ran from 5:30 to 8 p.m. and included a memorial for civil rights activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, along with the debut of a documentary on the MLK Association’s history, Dr. Oralene Simmons, the Asheville Prayer Breakfast and the group’s impact on Western North Carolina. Wednesday’s “Black Asheville 411” was set for 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Stephens-Lee.

Thursday’s “LEGENDARY: Celebrating the Legacy of John R. Hayes” at Eulogy, Burial Beer’s event space, featured the John R. Hayes Highsteppin’ Majorettes and Drum Corps, remarks from community leaders and screenings from an in-progress documentary on Elder Hayes and his legacy. It carried a $15 suggested donation for general admission and $50 limited reserved seating, with proceeds benefiting the Umoja Health Wellness & Justice Collective. Saturday’s Juneteenth Gala and Fashion Show is set for 6 to 9 p.m. at the A-B Tech Conference Center, with African and cultural attire, music by the Freeflow band and food by Kente Kitchen.

Juneteenth became a City of Asheville holiday in 2021, and the city said it was proud to support the MLK Association and its partners in hosting the week. Mayor Esther Manheimer issued a Juneteenth proclamation on June 11, 2024, and the local observance ties Asheville’s present-day civic calendar to the wider history of June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers under Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that enslaved people were free.