Children play in the foam during Marysville’s family-centered Juneteenth celebration at Yuba Park on Saturday, June 20. Photo by Shamaya Sutton

MARYSVILLE, CA (MPG) - What began as a slower, cooler morning at Yuba Park on Saturday, June 20, turned into a daylong Juneteenth celebration rooted in family tradition, community service and local history.

Hosted by the Marysville Juneteenth Committee, the event brought residents to the park for food, music, games, educational displays, youth performances and family activities. While the celebration included festival-style attractions, including a foam slide, pony rides, eyebrow waxing, red light facials and a tattoo station, organizers said the heart of the event was not about creating a large vendor fair. Instead, committee member Emma Hirshkorn said the goal was to keep the gathering close to its roots.

Youth dancers from Seriana’s Studio perform during Marysville’s Juneteenth celebration at Yuba Park on Saturday, June 20. Photo by Shamaya Sutton

“I don’t like a lot of vendors, and we’re not trying to do the food festival kind of thing where you have people from out of town coming in selling their trinkets,” Hirshkorn said. “We’re just a bunch of folks coming out here together.”

At the center of the park, educational signs displayed a timeline of Black history in America, along with information recognizing inventions, innovations and cultural contributions connected to Black Americans. The displays included references to everyday items such as peanut butter and guitars, as well as major contributions including traffic-safety innovations, blood banking, elevator safety and other historical developments.

For Hirshkorn, the park itself carries significance. She said generations of families have gathered at Yuba Park, with traditions and family spots passed down over time. Some families, she said, have returned to the same areas of the park year after year since the 1960s. That history, Hirshkorn said, is part of why certain activities remain important to the event, including the cakewalk.

Pony rides were among the family activities offered during Marysville’s Juneteenth celebration at Yuba Park on Saturday, June 20. Photo by Chris Pedigo

“A lot of the things we do are based on tradition, like the cakewalk,” Hirshkorn said. “People say we have to have one because that’s what they used to do here. They would bake their cakes and bring them, so we have to have one every year.”

That sense of tradition was echoed by organizer Sonya Wilson, who hosted a yard sign giveaway during the event and creates the Juneteenth sign in the park each year. Wilson said her connection to the celebration began long before she became involved as an organizer.

“We used to come as kids,” Wilson said. “With the Juneteenth Committee, the last couple of years, we started trying to get it back together, get it going again.”

Darrell Ard, also known as “Smack Daddy,” served free barbecue to guests during Marysville’s Juneteenth celebration at Yuba Park on Saturday, June 20. Photo by Shamaya Sutton

Throughout the day, youth performance groups provided entertainment, adding to the family-centered atmosphere. Hirshkorn said one of her goals is to create more cultural programming for local Black youth. She said the idea came from wanting to organize a youth cultural fair where children could teach other children about their cultures. But when she looked for an existing group for Black youth, she did not find one.

“The Black kids don’t have a group,” Hirshkorn said. “So I’m creating one.”

Hirshkorn said the Juneteenth celebration is part of a broader effort to bring families together, create opportunities for youth and build community through simple, accessible events. Much of Saturday’s celebration was offered free or at low cost through community support, fundraising and donations. Hirshkorn said a fundraiser held at Hooligans in Yuba City helped support the event, and several activities were made possible by friends, volunteers and community members.

A Juneteenth display created by organizer Sonya Wilson stands at Yuba Park during Marysville’s Juneteenth celebration on Saturday, June 20. Photo by Shamaya Sutton

That spirit of giving was also visible near the barbecue, where Darrell Ard, also known as “Smack Daddy,” served free ribs, brats, and chicken to guests. Ard owns Savage Treat Stand and operates a nonprofit called Feeding My People, which provides hot meals and resources for the unhoused community.

“We just want to be out here doing what we can for the community,” Ard said. “I’m excited to be out here serving.”

For organizers, the celebration was about more than one day in the park. It was about honoring the past, maintaining long-held traditions and creating a place where future generations can see themselves reflected in the community.

A family enjoys the foam machine, one of several free children's activities offered during Marysville’s Juneteenth celebration at Yuba Park on Saturday, June 20. Photo by Shamaya Sutton