Singer Darlene Benton to headline Juneteenth Festival in Woodstock

“Jubilee!” will be the theme of the second annual Juneteenth Festival on historic Woodstock Square on Saturday, June 15.

The program from 3 to 6 p.m. will feature speakers, musical performances, and readings with food trucks, vendors, and fun family activities on the Square.

Among the performers will be singer Darlene Benton, the Moya Cultural Arts Dance Group, and the Kenny Davis Trio.

Benton has been singing since the age of four. Her path has taken her to gospel and jazz. She has sung throughout the Chicago area at such notable venues as the Auditorium Theatre, the House of Blues, the Chicago Hilton, and the Hemmens Culture Center. While her vocals have been requested by such iconic gospel artists as Albertina Walker, her true love is leading and ministering to the hearts and souls of people through praise and worship. Currently, she is working on her own material as a gifted songwriter.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the date when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, who had been cut off from news of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 when the Union took control of the length of the Mississippi River, first heard that they had been freed from an order read by the Union general who arrived with troops to take control of the port. It became an annual festival in cities and towns across Texas in the post-Civil War era. In this century observations have spread across the United States as a Jubilee day of liberation.

This first McHenry County celebration was organized by Gloria Van Hof, a McHenry County Board member, noted Underground Railroad historian, and longtime activist along with other community leaders.

For more information look for the Facebook page at tinyurl.com/2bytxe5n.