The Syracuse Juneteenth Committee Inc. will hold the 32nd annual Juneteenth Cultural Festival and parade in downtown Syracuse June 17 and 18. The Juneteenth Festival will take place on the 200 block of East Washington Street in front of City Hall. The festival kicks off noon Friday, June 17, during a City Hall flag raising ceremony.

Join “salt/city/blues” playwright Kyle Bass and “The Most Beautiful Home…Maybe” co-creator and co-director ashley sparks for a panel discussion moderated by Joann Yarrow, director of community engagement at Syracuse Stage. The panel will discuss the intersection of arts and activism and how thinking creatively can help address and find solutions to community problems.