Dover Hope Zone, Elevate Vocal Arts to Present Juneteenth Celebration

The Dover Hope Zone and Elevate Vocal Arts Summer Institute will host a free Juneteenth concert, “Black Joy: A Juneteenth Celebration,” on June 19 in Dover. (Photo courtesy of Dover Hope Zone. (Photo courtesy of Dover Hope Zone.)

The Dover Hope Zone, in collaboration with Elevate Vocal Arts Summer Institute, will host a free community Juneteenth celebration on Friday, June 19, featuring a concert highlighting the work of Black composers and artists.

Titled “Black Joy: A Juneteenth Celebration,” the event will take place at 7:30 p.m. at The Chapel at Delaware State University Downtown, located at 3 N. Bradford St. in Dover.

The concert will showcase apprentices from Elevate Vocal Arts’ Summer Institute, a program for young professional artists ages 18 to 25. Performers will present a vocal music program spanning a wide range of Black musical traditions.

According to organizers, the performance will explore themes of “Joy. Hope. Faith. Resilience. All of it, live.”

Special guests will include Delaware Poet Laureates Representative Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha and Albert Mills.

The free event is sponsored in part by the Delaware Community Foundation’s Youth Philanthropy Board for Kent County.

Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States and is celebrated annually on June 19. Communities across Delaware are marking the occasion with educational programs, cultural events and community gatherings.

The Dover Hope Zone is an interdisciplinary justice reinvestment initiative of The Hope Commission in partnership with Wesley College of Health & Behavioral Sciences and Delaware State University.

Those interested in attending can register through Elevate Vocal Arts. Admission is free and open to the public.