LAKE PLACID — There will be a Juneteenth celebration at the John Brown Farm State Historic Site on Saturday, June 22.

On June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, and announced the executive order, the enslaved people of the state learned they were free. This was the last state in which this news received by the people, and finally slavery in the United States was over. Juneteenth National Independence Day is now a national holiday to commemorate the end of slavery. It will be celebrated locally this year through an event with multiple organizers and sponsors, including the North Country Underground Railroad Historical Association, John Brown Lives! and New York State Parks.

A bus tour starting at 9 a.m. at the North Star Underground RR Museum at 1131 Mace Chasm Road, Ausable Chasm, will be conducted by NCUGRHA. Participants may choose to use their own transportation. Stops will include historic points on the Underground Railroad in Keeseville and Peru and reenactments of key individuals on this region’s URR route to freedom. For this tour, preregistration by June 20 is required. To register, please visit https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/MDHDF4LP48BQY. For questions on this portion of the event, please contact the North Star Museum.

The tour is scheduled to arrive at John Brown Farm at noon. For those traveling by bus, it will start the return trip to the North Star Museum at 4 p.m.

After arrival at John Brown Farm in Lake Placid at noon, there will be more activities, including meeting abolitionist Gerrit Smith portrayed by a local student, John Brown’s speech before the court, a Plattsburgh Gospel Choir performance directed by Dexter Criss, a talk by historian and author Amy Godine, children’s games and activities and a Healing Circle.

There will be a barbecue at John Brown Farm from 1 to 3 p.m. catered by Papa Duke’s of Willsboro for $8 per person.

Admission to John Brown Farm is free and all are welcome.

For further information you may contact the park office at (518)527-0191 or email brendan.mills@parks.ny.gov.