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Janice Carr sets up a booth at the Juneteenth celebration at Central Elementary in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, June 15, 2024. (©Bruce Newman)

A water slide helped cool things off at the Juneteenth celebration at Central Elementary in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, June 15, 2024. (©Bruce Newman)

Robert Blackmon sings at the Juneteenth celebration at Central Elementary in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, June 15, 2024. (©Bruce Newman)

The Dynamic Dolls dance at the Juneteenth celebration at Central Elementary in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, June 15, 2024. (©Bruce Newman)

The Dynamic Dolls dance at the Juneteenth celebration at Central Elementary in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, June 15, 2024. (©Bruce Newman)

Nut-Thing but Love Savory Snacks, a vendor that serves walnuts, pecans and several other things was part of the festival as a vendor. The business was founded by Deberia Coleman, a native of Crenshaw. Photo by Ian Sparks

By Ian Sparks 

Eagle intern

The Oxford Juneteenth festival was held in the parking lot of Central Elementary School on Saturday, with plenty of vendors varying from shaved ice to homemade arts and crafts along with water slides and live music.

The official holiday is June 19.

Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of enslaved peoples in 1865. The first Juneteenth celebration took place in 1865, but the Emancipation Proclamation was signed three years prior in 1862.

Nut-Thing but Love Savory Snacks, a vendor that serves walnuts, pecans and several other things was part of the festival as a vendor. The business was founded by Deberia Coleman, a native of Crenshaw. 

“I started out doing the pecans because I’m a giver,” Coleman said. “What I used to do was pick the pecans, put them in bags and give them to nursing homes.” 

Her stand serves up a variety of nuts and other treats. “I have pecans, almonds and walnuts. I jazz them up with cherries and raisins with my own special recipe,” Coleman said. “I have Kool-Aid pineapples that I created, too.” 

A celebration like the Juneteenth festival is impactful for her and for the future, Coleman said.  

“It means the world to me, because I think about my grandmom, my granddad. They didn’t have the opportunities that we have now,” Coleman said. “Celebrating Juneteenth means that opportunity is now open to me, open to my children and my grandkids.” 

Coleman is a two-time breast cancer survivor and is living her life to the fullest.  “I’m enjoying it, I’m enjoying doing it and I’m enjoying life,” she said.

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