Lake Area community comes together for Juneteenth Freedom Festival

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - There were plenty of floats, music, and food, as people came together to celebrate pride and freedom at the Juneteenth Freedom Festival in Lake Charles.

Aside from the variety of tasty cuisine that was available, what brought the people of Southwest Louisiana together was the building of family and togetherness.

Lake Charles resident Robert Guilbeaux shares the impact the unity of one another has done on him.

“I’m encouraged by the people who came out who really did not know a whole lot [about] the emancipation proclamation and the processes it took,” he said.

“It’s about coming together and just talking to one another about how we can make our communities much better and find out what the needs are of people,” Lake Charles native Kevin Guidry said.

Free indeed is what many people in the Lake Area felt today. Reaping the benefits of ancestors who paved the way during slavery.

Guidry said it is a time to really look back and acknowledge how far the culture has come with the desire to go further - empowering each other until there’s no stone left unturned.

“The educators and teachers are out here helping with so many different events, and kids get a chance to interact with different things that they did not have before,” Guidry said. “So that’s it, it’s a great opportunity for us to do better in our community and hopefully advance our kids to into being much better citizens in the community.”

Happy Juneteenth!

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