juneteenth 2022

19 jubilant Juneteenth Houston events toast the day with parades, parties, and more

Legendary act Kool & the Gang will perform at the Juneteenth Parade and Emancipation Park 150th Juneteenth Weekend Festival.

Kool & the Gang/

While Juneteenth became a federal holiday only last year and state holiday in 1980, in the Gulf Coast region, locals have been celebrating since 1865. The cherished holiday marks the day Union soldiers arrived in Galveston and declared to the slaves there that they had been freed.

Sadly it took two years for news that President Abraham Lincoln has issued the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation to reach area slaves. But rather than react with anger at the delay, they immediately toasted the discovery that they were free with dance, feasts, prayers, and more.

Here in Houston and Galveston, a host of Juneteenth-themed events abound. CultureMap news partner ABC13 will televise and stream the Juneteenth Parade and Emancipation Park 150th Juneteenth Weekend Festival (Saturday, June 18 and Sunday, June 19).

The event celebrates the story of Jack Yates, an slave who raised $1,000 to purchase the 10 acres of land that is now Emancipation Park. Look for musicians and entertainers Earnest Pugh, Zacardi Cortez, Monica Lisa Stevenson, and Pastor Mike, the Isley Brothers, Kool & the Gang, and Frankie Beverly and Maze.

Celebrate the momentous and historic day with these lively events that include parades, treats, music, art, comedy, and more.

Friday, June 17

40 Acres will host a four-day, Juneteenth Weekend Extravaganza, filled with a bevy of events. We're talking about a for-the-culture game night, a cookout where fathers can get a free meal, painting, a know-to-vote lunch for felons and first-time voters, etc. 11 am.

The Cupcake Kitchen Houston, a Black female-owned bakery and soul food restaurant in Third Ward, will offer special dishes all weekend at $6.19. They will have "Juneteenth Sweets & Eats" specials, including Southern grilled oxtail quesadillas and homemade banana pudding. Noon.

Home2 Suites By Hilton Houston Pearland will host a weekend-long, Black Girls Rule Juneteenth Freedom Ride. Join BGR for a weekend of sisterhood and fellowship, as they ride in and around Houston in celebration of freedom. 4 pm.

POST Houston will be the spot for the Juneteenth Freedom Weekend, an in-person/live stream experience that will combine cashflow, community, and culture in an entertaining festival setting. (POST will also host the Black Is Primary Juneteenth Festival on Saturday.) 4 pm.

The DeLuxe Theater will celebrate Juneteenth and Black Music Month with a film screening of the award-wining film Memory Builds the Monument. This short documentary highlights the cultural and social challenges of African-American Houstonians in the '40s, '50s, and '60s. 7 pm.

Phil & Derek's Restaurant & Jazz Lounge will host the Father's Day and Juneteenth Weekend Comedy Jamz. Enjoy cocktails with the old man as Ray Etc and Larry A. Goodwell serve as the evening's comedy headliners. 7:30 pm.

Saturday, June 18

Start off the day with Mayor Turner’s Annual Acres Homes Juneteenth Parade. Parade begins at Acres Homes Multi-Service Center, travels north on W. Montgomery, west on Dolly Wright and ends at Greater Zion Missionary Baptist Church. 9 am.

Children's Museum Houston will be honoring Juneteenth with drumming, storytelling, dramatization, interactive activities and so much more. And don't forget about the special appearances from author Jatrean Sanders and Black Panther! 10 am.

Buffalo Soldiers National Museum invites you to celebrate Juneteenth with them. Enjoy a live art session with artist/art professor Lauren Luna, tours, Living History Tours, a live DJ, food truck and a cash bar. Noon.

The Juneteenth celebration at the historic Hopewell Rosenwald School will include an open house/tour of the school. There will be a sampling of foods (including barbecue and potato salad), games for the entire family, and former students from throughout the county are invited to share their oral history. Noon.

Over at Club Sienna's Juneteenth Jubilee, Reggie Jamz will perform Motown and R&B classics, and artist ANGE will give a speed painting performance. A variety of food trucks will be on-site and local vendors will have candles, clothing, jewelry, tea, children’s books, and more for sale. 6 pm.

713 Music Hall will have a Juneteenth HBCU Alliance Music Fest & Scholarship Benefit, featuring Wale, Lucky Daye, Chrisette Michele and others. All proceeds will go to the TSU & PV National Alumni Association Scholarship Fund. 7:30 pm.

Sunday, June 19

The Plant Project will have a Juneteenth celebration rich with history, heritage, and plenty of plants. The free, family-friendly event will focus on sharing the important cultural history of June 19th and ways to create a greener tomorrow. 11 am.

BLCK Market will present a its third annual Juneteenth celebration at East River HTX. Experience the culture with their unique vendors (100 small black businesses and entrepreneurs will be on hand), live music and food trucks. 1 pm.

Buddy's Houston will hold a Juneteenth Black Pride Drag Brunch. Tamar Jazelle Paris will host not one, but two most-likely-to-be-fierce drag shows, while Chef Tae will serve up the amazing food. 1 pm.

MacGregor Park will be the location for the Juneteenth Slabs N Crawfish Fest. Spend Juneteenth (and Father's Day) checking out all the fly rides, while also chowing down on some choice mudbugs. 3 pm.

Desert Door will present a proclamation dinner that will celebrate Juneteenth and include a special listening session of Youth Soul Love's latest album, MADE. This event will feature a gourmet meal and high tea created by Chef Vicky, as well as curated cocktails. 6 pm.

Juneteenth: The Journey To Freedom will play over at Miller Outdoor Theatre. It's a performance filled with dramatic visuals, live music, narrations, and dance that tells the story of African Americans from 1865 to today and their journey to the celebration of freedom. 8:30 pm.

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Movie Review

Star TV producer James L. Brooks stumbles with meandering movie Ella McCay

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Emma Mackey in Ella McCay.

The impact that writer/director/producer James L. Brooks has made on Hollywood cannot be understated. The 85-year-old created The Mary Tyler Moore Show, personally won three Oscars for Terms of Endearment, and was one of the driving forces behind The Simpsons, among many other credits. Now, 15 years after his last movie, he’s back in the directing chair with Ella McCay.

The similarly-named Emma Mackey plays Ella, a 34-year-old lieutenant governor of an unnamed state in 2008 who’s on the verge of becoming governor when Governor Bill (Albert Brooks) gets picked to be a member of the president’s Cabinet. What should be a happy time is sullied by her needy husband, Ryan (Jack Lowden), her agoraphobic brother, Casey (Spike Fearn), and her perpetually-cheating father, Eddie (Woody Harrelson).

Despite the trio of men competing to bring her down, Ella remains an unapologetic optimist, an attitude bolstered by her aunt Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), her assistant Estelle (Julie Kavner), and her police escort, Trooper Nash (Kumail Nanjiani). The film follows her over a few days as she navigates the perils of governing, the distractions her family brings, and the expectations being thrust upon her by many different people.

Brooks, who wrote and directed the film, is all over the place with his storytelling. What at first seems to be a straightforward story about Ella and her various issues soon starts meandering into areas that, while related to Ella, don’t make the film better. Prime among them are her brother and father, who are given a relatively small amount of screentime in comparison to the importance they have in her life. This is compounded by a confounding subplot in which Casey tries to win back his girlfriend, Susan (Ayo Edebiri).

Then there’s the whole political side of the story, which never finds its focus and is stuck in the past. Though it’s never stated explicitly, Ella and Governor Bill appear to be Democrats, especially given a signature program Ella pushes to help mothers in need. But if Brooks was trying to provide an antidote to the current real world politics, he doesn’t succeed, as Ella’s full goals are never clear. He also inexplicably shows her boring her fellow lawmakers to tears, a strange trait to give the person for whom the audience is supposed to be rooting.

What saves the movie from being an all-out train wreck is the performances of Mackey and Curtis. Mackey, best known for the Netflix show Sex Education, has an assured confidence to her that keeps the character interesting and likable even when the story goes downhill. Curtis, who has tended to go over-the-top with her roles in recent years, tones it down, offering a warm place of comfort for Ella to turn to when she needs it. The two complement each other very well and are the best parts of the movie by far.

Brooks puts much more effort into his female actors, including Kavner, who, even though she serves as an unnecessary narrator, gets most of the best laugh lines in the film. Harrelson is capable of playing a great cad, but his character here isn’t fleshed out enough. Fearn is super annoying in his role, and Lowden isn’t much better, although that could be mostly due to what his character is called to do. Were it not for the always-great Brooks and Nanjiani, the movie might be devoid of good male performances.

Brooks has made many great TV shows and movies in his 60+ year career, but Ella McCay is a far cry from his best. The only positive that comes out of it is the boosting of Mackey, who proves herself capable of not only leading a film, but also elevating one that would otherwise be a slog to get through.

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Ella McCay opens in theaters on December 12.

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