Freedom Fest 2024, held Saturday at Bo Diddley Community Plaza in Gainesville, marked the third annual celebration of the music and arts festival. This event is a significant part of the city’s "Journey to Juneteenth" festivities, commemorating both Florida Emancipation Day on May 20 and the widely recognized Juneteenth holiday on June 19.
The festival, sponsored by the City of Gainesville’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department and the State of Florida Division of Arts and Culture, showcased live performances, art exhibits, food trucks, small business vendors, community organization booths, children’s activities, and an elder's corner, making it a free, family-friendly event dedicated to celebrating freedom and equality for all.
Morgan Vanderlaan, a 19-year-old political science and English student at the University of Florida, said she discovered the event through a flyer and decided to participate.
"Being surrounded by this community and learning so much from them is a really great experience even though we have the rain," Vanderlaan said.
Vanderlaan said she believes that events like Freedom Fest are crucial for fostering unity among the diverse communities in the city. She said the rain that broke out midway through the event didn’t damper the attendees’ spirits.
"Even though it was a bad thing, I think [the rain] brought the people together at the same time. If you had the chance to look at the tents, there are multiple people covering in them that probably do not know each other, and that created a conversation, which is the idea of this event," she said.
Robert De La Salle, a 20-year-old political science student and intern at the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners, also attended the event and shared his positive outlook despite the rain.
"I am really glad of how the event turned out despite the rain. I think it's great," he said.
De La Salle emphasized that such events are uncommon in the state and expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to be part of Freedom Fest. He found symbolic meaning in the rain, viewing it as a metaphor for the community’s resilience and strength in the face of adversity.
"To me, the rain is kind of symbolic in a way that throughout the troubles that we faced today. We remained strong together and prevailed despite the hardship," De La Salle said.