Juneteenth was officially declared a federal holiday on June 17, 2021. The stock market will not be open on Juneteenth, according to the NYSE market schedule. All post offices will be closed on Juneteenth,

Several events are being held across Central Texas to commemorate the day slaves in Texas learned that they had been freed.

In Odessa, the council is hosting its 26th annual Juneteenth celebration. This year’s theme is “Western and Bling,” a nod to both culture and flair and organizers are encouraging attendees to show up in cowboy boots, carry fans and add plenty of sparkle.

In Denver, for example, more than a dozen companies backed out of supporting the Juneteenth Music Festival, which is one of the city’s biggest celebrations of the holiday, according to Norman Harris, executive director of JMF Corporation, which puts on the event.

The City of Kilgore celebrated Juneteenth with a parade and cookout on Saturday. The Kilgore Legacy Foundation hosted the event and presented scholarships to their 2025 Juneteenth king and queen for essays they wrote on freedom.

From parades to festivals and even free food, hundreds gather every year to take part in celebrating Juneteenth. But, the holiday surpasses the physical celebrations, and East Texas leaders say it's about celebrating freedom.

It was 160 years ago that enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned they had been freed — after Civil War's end and two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.