SALISBURY — The Salisbury-Rowan NAACP is gearing up for a special rendition of its annual Juneteenth Celebration, adding events such as tours of local landmarks and more to the five-day event in honor of its 30th anniversary.

The celebration will begin Wednesday evening, with a prayer vigil held at the Rowan County Administration Building, 130 W. Innes St., Salisbury, at 6 p.m. The event will include local clergy members Rev. Rick Galloway of Dorsett Chapel, Rev. Ricky Johnson of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, Rev. Tajuan Kyles of Southern City Tabernacle African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Minister Dwayne Lester, Rev. Michael Mitchell of Liberty AME Zion Church, Rev. Derrick Anderson of Soldiers Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and Minister Sonya Galloway of Dorsett Chapel.

Following that will be the second annual Juneteenth Heritage Breakfast on Thursday morning, held at the Salisbury Civic Center, 315 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. S., Salisbury, with doors opening at 7:30 a.m. The breakfast will have a theme of “Deeply Rooted: Building on the Promise, Thriving for Our Future.”

The Heritage Breakfast will be emceed by WCCB Charlotte Rising’s Joe Duncan and will include guest speaker Rev. Derrick Hawkins of Promise City Church and performances by the Salisbury Community Choir, Mama Patience, Triple Threat Dance and Charm and more.

The breakfast is free to the public, but registration is required and can be done at https://bit.ly/2025heritagebreakfast.

On Friday, the NAACP will host a screening of “Juneteenth: Faith and Freedom” at the Rowan Museum, 202 N. Main St., Salisbury at 6 p.m. NAACP President Gemale Black said he was most excited by this portion, as it showcased the history of the beginning of Juneteenth as well as “what it’s all about and how this all started.”

On Saturday, the headline Juneteenth Celebration will be held from noon to 7 p.m. at the Bell Tower Green and will include a variety of offerings. Returning from prior years will be the multitude of food, retail and information vendors; live music and spoken word performances; line dancing; and other children and family-friendly activities.

New this year will be the historic trolley tour, which will make stops for attendees to learn about Black history landmarks throughout Salisbury, and a chess tournament with categories for all age groups.

Black, Juneteenth Committee chairperson, said that the tour will follow along with the African-American Heritage Trail. The trail includes landmarks such as the office of Lee C. Jones, one of the few remaining buildings from the Black business district surrounding the intersection of North Lee Street and East Council Street; Soldiers Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church; the Mowery block which included Black-owned businesses such as Noble and Kelsey Funeral Home and the Union Drug Store; and the Dixonville Cemetery.

The chess tournament will have three separate tournaments, with the junior level including 5 through 12 year olds and starting at noon, the senior level including 12 through 18 year olds and starting at 2 p.m. and the adult level starting at 4 p.m.

The final event in the five-day celebration will be Soulful Sunday, where gospel performers from throughout the area, including Roy and Revelation, Yakeima “Songbird” White, Ray and the Exciting Gospel Keys, Dorsett Chapel and Messenger of Christ, will perform at the Bell Tower Green.

According to previous Salisbury Post articles, the first Juneteenth in Rowan County was hosted by the NAACP, although the facts are not known as to when it occurred and where. In June 1995, the Rowan Area Minority Business Association (RAMBA) sponsored Juneteenth to bring awareness back to the community.

That year RAMBA promoted community awareness, history of the Juneteenth celebration, and a networking and sharing opportunity for local Black-owned businesses.

Sponsors of the event include the City of Salisbury Parks and Recreation, Duke Energy, Livingstone College, Catawba College, Novant Health, First Presbyterian Race Task Force, Bojangles, the Alcorn family and Food Lion,