Photos: Santa Cruz Celebrates 'Body, Mind and Soul' at 34th Annual Juneteenth Festival

Yasmina Porter greets a friend as the Santa Cruz Juneteenth Choir sings "Lift Every Voice and Sing" as the 34th Santa Cruz Juneteenth celebration fills Laurel Park behind London Nelson Community Center on Saturday. The theme for this year's local celebration was "Body, Mind and Soul" and included music, poetry, food, crafts booths, a basketball contest and the construction of an Ancestors Altar to honor those that have come before. The name "Juneteenth" is a play on the date of June 19th, 1865, the day the Union Army made its way into Galveston, Texas, and Gen. Gordon Granger announced to the people of Texas that all enslaved African Americans were free. More than 250,000 African Americans embraced freedom by executive decree in what became known as Juneteenth or Freedom Day. Santa Cruz Juneteenth was first envisioned by native Texan Raymond Evans, who, in 1991 decided it was time to bring the Juneteenth celebration to his adopted city of Santa Cruz. "Lift Every Voice and Sing" is often called The Black national anthem, and was written by James Weldon Johnson as a poem and later set to music by his brother J. Rosamond Johnson. The NAACP adopted it as the "Negro National Anthem" in 1919. (Shmuel Thaler - Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Ruby Brown and the crew from Word of Life Church of God in Christ keep macaroni and cheese and other soul food delicacies coming at their popular booth at the Juneteenth celebration on Saturday. (Shmuel Thaler - Santa Cruz Sentinel)

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Yasmina Porter greets a friend as the Santa Cruz Juneteenth Choir sings "Lift Every Voice and Sing" as the 34th Santa Cruz Juneteenth celebration fills Laurel Park behind London Nelson Community Center on Saturday. The theme for this year's local celebration was "Body, Mind and Soul" and included music, poetry, food, crafts booths, a basketball contest and the construction of an Ancestors Altar to honor those that have come before. The name "Juneteenth" is a play on the date of June 19th, 1865, the day the Union Army made its way into Galveston, Texas, and Gen. Gordon Granger announced to the people of Texas that all enslaved African Americans were free. More than 250,000 African Americans embraced freedom by executive decree in what became known as Juneteenth or Freedom Day. Santa Cruz Juneteenth was first envisioned by native Texan Raymond Evans, who, in 1991 decided it was time to bring the Juneteenth celebration to his adopted city of Santa Cruz. "Lift Every Voice and Sing" is often called The Black national anthem, and was written by James Weldon Johnson as a poem and later set to music by his brother J. Rosamond Johnson. The NAACP adopted it as the "Negro National Anthem" in 1919. (Shmuel Thaler - Santa Cruz Sentinel)

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Yasmina Porter greets a friend as the Santa Cruz Juneteenth Choir sings “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as the 34th Santa Cruz Juneteenth celebration fills Laurel Park behind London Nelson Community Center on Saturday. The theme for this year’s local celebration was “Body, Mind and Soul” and included music, poetry, food, crafts booths, a basketball contest and the construction of an Ancestors Altar to honor those that have come before. The name “Juneteenth” is a play on the date of June 19th, 1865, the day the Union Army made its way into Galveston, Texas, and Gen. Gordon Granger announced to the people of Texas that all enslaved African Americans were free. More than 250,000 African Americans embraced freedom by executive decree in what became known as Juneteenth or Freedom Day. Santa Cruz Juneteenth was first envisioned by native Texan Raymond Evans, who, in 1991 decided it was time to bring the Juneteenth celebration to his adopted city of Santa Cruz. “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is often called The Black national anthem, and was written by James Weldon Johnson as a poem and later set to music by his brother J. Rosamond Johnson. The NAACP adopted it as the “Negro National Anthem” in 1919.

Ruby Brown and the crew from Word of Life Church of God in Christ keep macaroni and cheese and other soul food delicacies coming at their popular booth at the Juneteenth celebration on Saturday.