The Desert Botanical Garden will be the setting Friday for the Juneteenth Evening Festival celebrating Black culture and excellence through storytelling, history, art and entrepreneurship.

The Archwood Exchange Buy Black Marketplace and Desert Botanical Garden are partnering for the event, which will take place 6-9 p.m. June 16, at the garden, 1201 N. Galvin Parkway, Phoenix.

The first festival spotlights the African American experience with the Archwood Exchange’s marketplace of Black-owned cultural goods, music performances, dance, food trucks, a live painting experience and other interactive activities.

“We are honored to partner with the Desert Botanical Garden to highlight and continue to give exposure to Black businesses at the Buy Black Marketplace,” said Ali Nervis, Archwood Exchange co-founder.

“Our mission is to help tell the true history of Juneteenth by supporting this educational and social engagement. It is in our hearts to carry on the legacy of entrepreneurship as a direct pipeline to financial freedom in the Black community.”

Juneteenth, also known as Juneteenth Independence Day or Freedom Day, is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of chattel slavery in the United States.

On June 19, 1865, tens of thousands of enslaved Americans in Texas were emancipated, more than two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Initially a Texas state holiday, Juneteenth became a federally recognized holiday on June 17, 2021, and is observed on June 19.

Admittance to the Archwood Exchange Juneteenth event at the Desert Botanical Garden is included with Gardens admission available at the gates or online at https://dbg.org/events/juneteenth-2023/2023-06-14/