Juneteenth 2023

Ultimate guide to jubilant Juneteenth celebrations in Houston, Galveston, and beyond

Juneteenth has been a federal holiday since 2021 and a state holiday in 1980. But here in the Gulf Coast region, locals have been celebrating since 1865. The cherished day 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. Venues all around the Greater Houston area and beyond will toast the day with concerts, food, festivals, movies, and more.

New for this year, a vivid mural by artist Chris Robinson at Bagby Park (415 Gray St.) celebrates Juneteenth by highlighting Houston’s historically Black neighborhoods: Freedman’s Town (also referred to as Fourth Ward), Fifth Ward, Independence Heights, Acres Homes, Sunnyside, South Park, and Third Ward. Each letter of the word "Midtown" represents one of the neighborhoods. The mural will be up through July 7.

Galveston

Of course, the birthplace of Juneteenth will bring it. Locals can check out all the events at Visit Galveston — from balls, comedy, concerts, cookouts, cruises, festivals, religious services, and much more. Highlights include a ball, concert at the stunning Grand 1894 Opera House, cruises, festivals and markets, and much more. The celebrations run this week through Monday.

Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier/Facebook

Galveston Island: No. 2 spring break destination.

Thursday, June 15

Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and SOA Books Co. will celebrate Juneteenth with a Liberation Market. Swing by, support Black literary arts, and peruse the market for art, music, and drinks throughout the event.. 6:30 pm.

Rooftop Cinema Club Uptown is having Juneteenth screenings all throughout the month. Among the movies that’ll be playing: Set It Off, Juice, What’s Love Got to Do With It, Get Out, and Coming to America. 7:15 pm.

Friday, June 16

The Juneteenth Sneaker Ball will go down somewhere in downtown Houston this weekend. Ebony (aka Princess Streetwize) and Shiloh Williams will host this event, and they’ll be giving awards to people with the best African-themed attire/dope sneakers fit. 5 pm.

Miller Outdoor Theatre will present "Juneteenth at Miller Outdoor Theatre: A Celebration of Freedom." The two-day concert event will be a musical journey that embraces the sound of blues, classic rhythm & blues, and hip-hop. 8:15 pm.

Saturday, June 17

Children’s Museum Houston will celebrate Juneteenth with three days’ worth of events. There will be a live show about the vital contributions of African Americans, as well as a commemorative, poetic production put on by Ensemble Theatre. 10 am.

Emancipation Park Conservancy will start things off with an inaugural Juneteenth Freedom Run/Walk. Later in the day, there will also be a Juneteenth Music Festival at 3 pm, featuring music from The SOS Band, Lakeside, and Step Rideau & the Zydeco Outlaws. 10 am.

Mayor Turner’s Annual Acres Homes Juneteenth Parade will go down this weekend. The parade begins at Acres Homes Multi-Service Center, then travels north on W. Montgomery, west on Dolly Wright, and ends at Greater Zion Missionary Baptist Church. 10 am.

Finn Hall will have a block party celebrating Juneteenth. Stop by The Smoke, Swallow’s Nest, Craft Burger, Three Keys, and Carol Kays, the newest spot, to support the Hall’s Black-owned restaurants. Noon.

Razzle Dazzle My Canvas will celebrate the culture with a day full of fun, games, food, and live entertainment. Vendors will be there with some of the best food, oils, clothes, desserts, and items that you have ever experienced. Noon.

BLCK Market will have its fourth annual Juneteenth Celebration over at Greenstreet. Celebrate Juneteenth with the largest gathering of Black-onwed businesses and entrepreneurs. They will also have a Juneteenth event on Sunday. 1 pm.

Generation Park is hosting its inaugural Juneteenth Celebration at Redemption Square. Visitors can enjoy a market with local, minority-owned vendors, live music expanding many genres, speeches from elected officials, and visual & performing arts. 3 pm.

Club Sienna’s Sienna Juneteenth Jubilee will feature performances by the Reggie Jamz Band and Swag Boiz, as well as the TSU Tigers Sensations dance team. The market will showcase jewelry, art, books, candles, clothing, snacks, houseware and more. 7 pm.

Sunday, June 18

Ray’s BBQ Shack and STUFF’D Wings will join forces for a weekend full of Juneteenth stuff, including a Juneteenth/Father’s Day block party on Sunday. They will debut their new, limited-time menu items and will also have a huge surprise unveiling. 11 am.

Da Hookah Plug Lounge will get its paint, sip and brunch on for Juneteenth. Join them for a delicious lunch (or brunch) that will lead into some sipping and painting. There will also be a comedy show at 3 pm. 12:30 pm.

Lagoonfest Texas will present its Juneteenth Festival, featuring performances by Smokin' Joe Leonard, Blaque Vinyls, and the CC Rider Band. Guests will get to enjoy water activities or relax on the white sandy beach while they soak in the sounds. 1 pm.

Monday, June 19

The Tasting Room in Galveston will have a Juneteenth show featuring music and comedy. Violinist Dominique Hammons will come with the tunes, while Liz Faubles Wallace will come with the laughs. 4 pm.

Historic Eldorado Ballroom and Highway Vodka will debut “Libations for Liberation,” a cocktail competition commemorating Juneteenth. The competition will task 10 local bartenders with creating libations that embody the spirit of the national holiday. 6 pm.

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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