Three consecutive days of events, entertainment, and solemn ceremonies at Parade Plaza in New London will celebrate culture and diversity later this month.

It’s organized by New London’s Cultural District.

On Wednesday, Juneteenth Reveal will run from 3 to 6 p.m. and will mark the addition of three stops on the New London Black Heritage Trail with guest speakers and cultural performances. The unique, award-winning walking trail features more than a dozen sites detailing the struggles and triumphs of New London’s Black and Indigenous community, past and present.

There will be a special commemoration in honor of Sara Chaney, who was instrumental in establishing the New London chapter of the NAACP. Additionally, New London artist Marvin Espy, owner of The Marvin Espy Gallery of Fine Art on State Street, will be painting a mural during the celebration. June 19, 1865, is acknowledged as the date slavery officially ended in the U.S. On that date, enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, were finally informed by Union soldiers about President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of April 1863. The date was established as a federal holiday in 2021.

City leaders will kick off acknowledgment of the holiday with a Juneteenth flag-raising ceremony at 6 p.m. Monday on the steps of City Hall.

Pride on Parade, a New London celebration of Pride Month, will begin at 6 p.m. June 20, with OutCT’s annual Everyone Deserves Pride vigil on the steps of City Hall and the raising of the Progressive Pride Flag. Participants will be invited to walk down State Street to Parade Plaza for the Pride Celebration featuring music, food trucks, and information booths from 7 to 9 p.m.

New London will celebrate Make Music Day on June 21 with musicians from around the region performing free at several locations from 11 a.m. into the night. Sites include Parade Plaza, Hygienic Art Park, Custom House Museum, the Innovation Center plaza, under the Garde Arts Center marquee, Spindrift Guitars, and New London Public Library. Telegraph record store will host DJs throughout the day. Make Music Day is an international celebration of all things music held each year on the Summer Solstice.