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Music, art and conversation filled Maritime Heritage Park on Saturday as the Bellingham Unity Committee held its annual Juneteenth Celebration.

Guests were invited to bring food and blankets to spread out and picnic on the grass of the Maritime Amphitheater.

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated holiday that commemorates slavery ending in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas with news that the war was over and those enslaved were free.

The Bellingham Unity Committee began in 2018, when it held its first Juneteenth Celebration. According to its website, the committee aims to improve the community by “enhancing, teaching and honoring the rich legacy and history of African American culture.”