Juneteenth to be celebrated at Durand-Hedden House & Garden

MAPLEWOOD, N.J. — Juneteenth will be celebrated with historical reenactors, musical performances, and children’s activities at the Durand-Hedden House on Sunday, June 18.

The Durand-Hedden House & Garden Association and The South Orange-Maplewood Community Coalition on Race invite all community members to celebrate from 1 to 5 p.m., on the grounds surrounding Durand-Hedden House, 523 Ridgewood Road, Maplewood.

Activities will include learning about the history of enslaved people in New Jersey and watching musical performances. Children can enjoy face painting, crafts and storytelling. Food will be available for sale, according to the Museum.

Visitors can view the exhibit Slavery in New Jersey: A Troubled History, which provides historical context for Juneteenth and the history of enslaved people in New Jersey. The book based on the exhibit, written by Durand-Hedden President Gail R. Safian and designed by John Branigan, earned the Kevin M. Hale Publications Award from the League of Historical Societies of New Jersey.

The event is free and open to all. Pre-registration is appreciated at DurandHedden.org., which is Maplewood’s historic house museum, dedicated to creating engaging and informative educational programs and materials about the local history of Maplewood and surrounding communities, natural history, and other related topics.

The House is open once a month between September and June. For more information visit www.durandhedden.org. To arrange group tours, write to info@durandhedden.org. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.