Hundreds Gather for Rialto’s 3rd Annual Juneteenth Jam Celebrating Food, Culture, and Community

Thousands of attendees packed Fergusson Park in Rialto on Thursday, June 19 for the 3^rd annual Juneteenth Jam presented by Vickie Davis in partnership with the City of Rialto and Rialto Unified School District.

The high-energy community event featured live music, a car show, cook-off competition, vendors and even sporting events reflecting every aspect of the Food, Games, Culture and Community motto.

Food was well represented with both the cook off and a wide variety of food vendors keeping the huge crowd fed. Offerings ranging from homemade banana pudding to southern fried specialties were selling out quickly as hungry crowds made their way through the food section of the park.

Games were in abundance as several Flag Football match-ups took place on the football fields on one end of the park while a Women’s 3 vs. 3 basketball competition and co-ed 3 point contest were keeping crowds entertained on the other. A skate park take-over rounded out the activities with skateboarders showing off their moves in Fergusson’s skating facilities.

A row of Black sorority and fraternities were represented, celebrating the companionship and comradery exemplifying both Culture and Community.  Live music brought the joyful crowd onto the dirt dance floor to line-dance in unison. Vettes out West displayed some of their customized Corvettes, multiple artists exhibited their artwork and a Miss. Juneteenth scholarship pageant winner was crowned.

At the forefront of the festivities, Community was emphasized significantly with multiple vendors and organizations dedicated to sharing education and resources available to the community in the areas of health, education and empowerment.  Rialto Unified School District Student Services Department was present to update families on educational programs and opportunities, while the IE Black Women’s Collective area featured an area dedicated to showcasing Black-women owned businesses. 

A special focus was placed on the importance of health with the Community Health Care Initiative covering all aspects of wellness spanning from mental health and meditation booths to free physicals offered by Tri-State Community Healthcare Clinics, reflecting Juneteenth Jam founder Vickie Davis’s beliefs that “Our health is our most valuable asset and the most important investment any of us will ever make.”

The successful event was truly a vibrant display of community kinship, bringing together families and people from all over the Inland Empire (and beyond) to commemorate the holiday marking the end of slavery in the US. 

For more information visit @vickiedaviswellness.