DOWNTOWN (KGTV) — San Diego's Waterfront Park filled with music, food, and community as Kinfolk Fest marked Juneteenth with its ninth annual celebration.
The holiday commemorates June 19, 1865, when the last enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, were officially told they were free under the terms of the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. More than 100 years later, Black Americans across the country honor the day through festivals like Kinfolk Fest.
For attendees, the gathering carried deep personal meaning.
"It means freedom," Erica Crenshaw said.
"Black excellence. Just look around," Toyo Aboderin said.
SD Melanin, the organization behind the event, has hosted Kinfolk Fest for nearly a decade, with each year growing larger than the last.
"I love creating spaces where people feel like they're welcomed and they're meant to be there," SD Melanin founder Loren Cobbs said.
This year's festival featured nearly 100 Black-owned businesses, giving entrepreneurs a chance to connect directly with the community.
"We have more small businesses here, we have more artist performances," Cobbs said.
Among the vendors was Synovia Hyman, chef and owner of Mac Daddy Culture Kitchen, who was participating in Kinfolk Fest for the first time after launching her business two months ago.
"We take a traditional mac and cheese and kind of give it a Caribbean flair," Hyman said.
"We're a very new company just starting out, so to be celebrating Juneteenth here with this beautiful crowd, um, with a beautiful view, it's, it's amazing," Hyman said.
For many attendees, Kinfolk Fest represented more than a celebration — it was visibility and culture on full display.
"Being able to look around and see people that look like you. It's so important for us to know that we are also seen," Aboderin said.
"We don't have to hide who we are. We can be authentic, listen to the music that we love, eat the food that we enjoy, and just celebrate together," Ashley Murdock said.
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