Juneteenth, the Carver Community Center's Summer celebration, will take place Sat., June 15, from 3-11 p.m. in Foster Park.

The event will feature performances by the Binky Griptite Super Soul Revue, Maximum Groove, and DJ Abreeze, and a special guest appearance by actor and comedian Chris Tucker.

Binky Griptite is a founding member of Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, and the co-founder of Daptone Records. He has performed on albums for Janet Jackson and Amy Winehouse and hosted an all-vinyl radio show on WFUV in New York City until 2021.

Tucker made his professional debut as a comedian on HBO's Def Comedy Jam in 1992, but he entered the national consciousness in 1994 as Smokey in "Friday" with Ice Cube. He went on to star in Hollywood blockbusters such as "The Fifth Element" and the "Rush Hour" trilogy. Most recently, Tucker appeared in "Air" in 2023.

There will be food vendors, service providers, a beer garden, a dunk tank, a bounce house, quarter Bingo, and directed painting.

Juneteenth, officially recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, is typically celebrated on June 19 each year, commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S. The date was chosen to recognize June 19, 1865, the date that Union Major General Gordon Granger ordered the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the conclusion of the Civil War. Texas later became the first state to establish Juneteenth as a state holiday in 1979.

However, emancipation in Delaware and Kentucky was delayed until the adoption of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on Dec. 6, 1865. And Native American tribes continued the practice of slavery until forced to sign the Reconstruction Treaties of 1866.

Celebration of Juneteenth began informally in 1866 and slowly gained traction over the next 150 years. Texas formally recognized the date in 1938.

The Carver Center's Juneteenth celebration is made possible by the generosity of Eriks Chevrolet, First Farmers Bank and Trust, Meijer, the Kokomo Rescue Mission, Solidarity Community Federal Credit Union, Community First Bank, Community Health Network, Bucheri, McCarty, and Metz, Bob Knowling, Smith Financial, and the Howard County Board of Commissioners.