On Thursday, June 19, the City of Lanett will host the Greater Valley Juneteenth community festival from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm on the playfield and streets near W. O. Lance Elementary School. Thursday’s festival marks the 160th anniversary of Juneteenth with a family-friendly afternoon filled with music, games, food vendors, face painting, climbing wall, bouncers, and non-profit organizations. Fireworks by will follow at dusk from the former Lanett mill parking lot on US Highway 29.
This year’s festival is on the Juneteenth national holiday. It has been restructured to occur during a cooler part of the day because of the heat in previous years. Families are encouraged to bring a small pop-up tent, lawn chairs, or towels for seating. Food trucks with a variety of foods will be available – barbecue, smoked turkey legs, Caribbean spice, hibachi, Mexican, funnel cakes, Hot Diggity Dog, snow cones, candy apples, sour fruit, traditional burgers/dogs, and daiquiri attacks, non-alcoholic drinks. Free hot dogs will be available for children from 5:00 to 6:00 pm, provided by Masonic Lodge 876 and Lodge 33. Children’s games include a slip n slide with the Lanett Fire Department, a rock climbing wall, inflatable bouncers, face painting with Jacky Escobedo, the Jungle Bus, raffles on the hour, and athletic competitions.
Non-profit service groups will be on site, like Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, to conduct voter registration, and Alabama State University Alumni will raffle a television.
The festival will open at 4:00 pm with colors by Lanett High School ROTC and greetings from the mayors of Lanett and West Point. Bishop Winston Fannings will emcee and manage the stage with music provided by disc jockey Double T. Live performing acts include the Singing Disciples, actor/singer/songwriter Seth Harden with Tre, Jovan, and Secret Dimension, and a concert at 6:00 p.m. by Lil Frankie Hutchinson and No Ego. The music genre includes gospel, hip hop, southern soul, rhythm and blues, and a little country.
The 2025 Juneteenth sponsors are the cities of Lanett and West Point, West Point Development Authority, Chambers County Development Authority, KIA of Georgia, Fireworks Warehouse Inc, One Vision, Lanier Historical Society, Valley Local, Dobbs Corp, Kenny Knox, Sewing Machine Company, MW Lee Mortuary, Pilgrim Baptist Church, Mt. Hermon Baptist Church, Goodsell United Methodist, and Morgan & Sons Funeral Home. Late vendors, non-profit agencies, and crafters can register at www.Gvjuneteenth12.org.
Juneteenth is provided in partnership with the Greater Valley Juneteenth Committee, a volunteer nonprofit organization. Donations are tax-deductible.
For additional information about Juneteenth 2025, contact Trudye Johnson at 706-957-9722 or Trent McCants at 705-518-6650.