LBCAC’s 4th Annual Juneteenth Jubilee kicks off June 18 and includes film, music, theater and food
By MARRIE STONE
“I never in my life felt more certain that I was doing right than I do in signing this paper,” President Abraham Lincoln said on January 1, 1863, as he signed the Emancipation Proclamation, ending 246 years of slavery in the United States. “If my name ever goes into history, it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it.”
It would take another two and a half years for freedom to reach Texas. Union General Gordon Granger, accompanied by more than 2,000 federal soldiers, delivered the news across Galveston on a mild Monday afternoon – June 19, 1865 – “All slaves are free.”
Since that date, 160 years ago, June 19 (aka Juneteenth) has been widely celebrated throughout America’s Black communities. But not until four years ago did our nation declare it a federal holiday. “By making Juneteenth a federal holiday, all Americans can feel the power of this day, and learn from our history,” President Biden said before signing the bill in 2021. “And celebrate progress, and grapple with the distance we’ve come but the distance we have to travel.”
That distance feels particularly extreme since Donald Trump reentered the Oval Office five months ago, taking quick aim at DEI programs and causing federal agencies to pause activities and events related to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month, Juneteenth, LGBTQ Pride Month, Holocaust Remembrance Day and other “special observances” to comply with his executive order. That makes the Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center’s (LBCAC) 4th annual Juneteenth celebration all the more poignant this month.
Rick Conkey, LBCAC’s founder and executive director, partnered with other local organizations – including the Neighborhood Congregational Church (NCC) and the Rivian South Coast Theater – to shine four days of light on this joyful jubilee.
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Courtesy of LBCAC
A schedule of events to celebrate LBCAC’s 4th annual Juneteenth Jubilee (June 18-21)
“Juneteenth isn’t just Black history – it’s a moment of shared human reckoning,” Conkey said. “It reminds us that true freedom is never personal – it’s collective. None of us are truly free until all of us are. In a world full of noise, distraction and dis-ease, it’s easy to retreat inward. But fulfillment doesn’t come from isolation – it comes from giving, from understanding one another, and from honoring the struggles we’ve endured together. Juneteenth calls us to transcend the selfish and rise into the spiritual – to celebrate progress, fight for justice and uplift the divine spark in every soul.”
Summer of Soul (Rivian Theater on Wednesday, June 18)
The celebration kicks off on Wednesday, June 18 at Rivian for a screening of the 2021 Academy Award-winning documentary, Summer of Soul at 7 p.m. In the summer of 1969, only 100 miles south of Woodstock, another musical revolution was taking place. The Harlem Cultural Festival lasted six weeks and emerged as an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture, fashion and – of course – music. Featuring concert performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly and the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King, the 5th Dimension and many others, the film reminds audiences of the power of music to heal divisions and restore faith in our fellow humans during times of unrest.
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View the Summer of Soul trailer here.
Mike Kaspar, LBCAC’s media advisor and host of the popular KUCI radio show Film School (now in its 15th year) will moderate the event. “You’re going to hear some of the most joyous and uplifting music you will hear anywhere,” said Kaspar. “It’s unbelievable. I didn’t know about this festival (before the documentary), but it went on from June to August of 1969. It’s just an absolutely riveting and uplifting experience to see this film.”
Kaspar moderated a similar event after LBCAC aired Tulsa Burning in February during Black History Month. “There are so many important historic events that have happened in my lifetime regarding the African American community, race, equality, violence. So many things I was unaware of and uneducated about,” he said. “Rick Conkey is hoping to foster more conversations and Juneteenth is a terrific platform for these cultural and political discussions. We need to open the dialogue about our history. Our true history. Our real history.”
Trust 1 Band + Dinner Experience (Neighborhood Congregational Church)
On Thursday, June 19, the party moves to the NCC for a spirited evening of music, reflection and community. The evening promises an uplifting celebration of freedom featuring the dynamic Trust 1 Band. This talented group blends gospel, jazz, funk and R&B into an electrifying performance that will channel generations of music rooted in faithful endurance and joy. Their sound is a tribute to the strength of a people who have turned struggle into song and perseverance into praise.
NCC is an intentional choice. Historically, churches have been at the heart of Juneteenth celebrations and the broader African American freedom movement. From the earliest emancipation picnics to modern-day commemorations, the church has served as a sacred space for gathering, mourning, celebrating and organizing. Hosting this event at NCC honors that tradition and reaffirms the church’s role as a spiritual and cultural sanctuary for justice and healing.
The evening includes a delicious dinner featuring riblets and macaroni & cheese, with a vegan option available. Share a meal and witness this powerful music. Gather in fellowship and acknowledge our shared humanity and the ongoing journey toward equity.
Blues legends Jonathon “Boogie” Long + O’Malley Jones (LBCAC on Friday, June 20)
Louisiana blues icon Jonathon “Boogie” Long makes his first Laguna appearance this month. The 2011 Guitar Center “King of the Blues” guitarist is a Louisiana Music Hall of Fame inductee and was honored with his own day in the city of Baton Rouge. He has shared the stage with B.B. King, ZZ Top and countless other legends. Two of his albums have hit the Billboard Top 10 in Blues.
Long will be joined on stage by O’Malley Jones, who headlined this event in 2022. Jones’ rich vocals allow him to slide inside the styles of countless artists, a perfect complement to Long, who describes his music as the “gumbo of sound.”
“Every note I play is borrowed from the forefathers of the Blues. I’m just paying respect to the originators, trying to keep their legacy going and do them proud,” Long said.
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Courtesy of Jonathon “Boogie” Long
Louisiana Blues legend Jonathon “Boogie” Long
The genre originated from the cotton fields in the south, where slaves would sing work songs that eventually turned into the Blues.
“The Blues was a cry for help. The Blues was oppression. I don’t pretend to understand any of those things,” Long said. “I just try to pay respect to the mothers and fathers of the Blues.”
Long plans to play some original music, as well as a few covers, before being joined on stage by Jones.
Freedom Awakes: The souls of Spoon River Return
(LBCAC on Saturday, June 21)
In Southern Illinois, an abandoned 1800s cemetery decays on a hill above the small fictional town of Spoon River. One warm summer night, its restless spirits awaken to tell their stories. Those tales were shaped by the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln and the freedoms he promised.
Emmy-nominated Pamela Peak produces and directs Freedom Awakes, which features her acting troupe On Impulse, a group of 20 cast members including Bill Hartery (whose powerful voice made its way to Broadway). Hartery will sing two songs, as well as play the piano. The show also incorporates poetry by Langston Hughes, Civil War songs and the Gettysburg Address, delivered by the cast’s most masterful actor who looks and sounds like Abraham Lincoln.
What sets the actors of On Impulse apart is their training under the Sanford Meisner method. Meisner taught his students to “live truthfully under imaginary circumstances,” coaching a broad swath of A-list actors, including Alec Baldwin, Jeff Bridges, Sandra Bullock, James Caan, Robert Duvall, James Gandolfini, Diane Keaton and countless others. He became known as “Hollywood’s Best Kept Secret.”
“It’s an in-the-moment experience,” Peak said. “Whatever happens…if the roof falls in, you use it. If the audience talks to us, we’ll talk back. When you attend an On Impulse show you will truly know what it means when audiences say: ‘It’s not just theater…it’s an experience!’”
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Courtesy of Pamela Peak
Eddie Moten plays Doc Hill in “Freedom Awakes”
Peak describes the LBCAC stage as the perfect setting for an On Impulse production.
“I love the Cultural Arts Center. It’s very close and intimate. We like that kind of intimate venue, and the audience gets a kick out of it,” said Peak, who has performed in a number of private homes in Laguna Beach and elsewhere. “Because these actors truly believe in what they are experiencing, you believe it too.”
The production promises to be a fitting finale for the four-day Juneteenth Jubilee.
For information and to purchase tickets, visit the LBCAC website here.
