Wheeling Juneteenth celebration organizer Ron Scott Jr. gives his opening remarks during last year’s Juneteenth ceremony at Heritage Port. (File Photo)

WHEELING — Juneteenth will be recognized in the Friendly City this weekend with a variety of events, from a concert chronicling the history of Black music in America to a soul food cook-off.

Celebrations for the holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States will kick off with a Heritage Port ceremony on Thursday and continue through the weekend.

YWCA Wheeling Cultural Diversity & Community Outreach Director Ron Scott Jr., a Wheeling Area Juneteenth Celebration organizer, said this year’s programming will aim to unite the community.

“We want to set an example that we can come together and celebrate Juneteenth without filling the holiday with blame, anger or other negative emotions,” Scott said. “I want to remind people that we have a rich history of inclusion of others, overcoming adversity and bonding together.”

Celebrations will kick off at 3 p.m. Thursday at Heritage Port with vendors and food before the Juneteenth Ceremony at 5 p.m. Speakers at the ceremony include Men of Change Vice President Hayden Cook, West Virginia NAACP President Darryl Clausell, Wheeling Human Rights Commission member Unique Robinson-Murphy and Wheeling 3rd Ward Councilwoman Connie Cain.

Scott said the speeches will serve as the “ceremonial piece” of the Juneteenth commemorations. The “celebration piece” of the event will follow at 6 p.m. during the “Entertainment: The History of Black Music in America” concert.

The concert will traverse genres to chronicle Black musicians’ contributions to each. It will start with negro spirituals and cover jazz, blues, country, R&B, gospel and funk before ending with hip-hop.

Scott will introduce each genre, and local artists will then take to the stage to perform at least two songs from the genre. Featured artists include Mr. Fancy Pants, Matt VanFossen, DJ Kaz, Ezra Hamilton, the Matt Hill and Friends Jazz Band, the Voices of Praise Choir and the Tree of Life Church Choir.

“We’ve always had the entertainment part of the celebration because some aspects of Juneteenth are a little heavy and somber, so we want to make sure there is a lighter entertainment piece as well,” Scott said. “Usually we’ve just had a band or a DJ, but this adds a historical element and celebrates what Juneteenth should mean to a community while entertaining people.”

Juneteenth festivities will continue on Friday at Towngate Theatre with a free screening of Berry Gordy’s musical martial arts film “The Last Dragon.” Scott said the family-friendly film portrays the battle between Bruce Leroy and his nemesis Sho’nuff.

“We’re inviting local martial arts to come out and enjoy it, since it’s a spoofy, kung fu type movie,” Scott said.

Saturday celebrations will consist of an R&B Brunch Experience at the Wheeling Artisan Center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The experience will pair a Southern-style brunch buffet catered by River City with an interactive R&B Experience from DJ Kaz.

Scott said attendees could enjoy a “wonderful meal,” including menu items of chicken and waffles, cheesy grits and pastries, while playing music games centered around R&B, such as name that tune and finish the lyrics.

“While people are eating, DJ Kaz is going to be playing some of the best R&B music you’ve ever heard,” Scott said. “I finally figured out what folks meant when they use that phrase ‘it’s a vibe’ because the first time I went to an R&B brunch, I really got caught up in the food, music and moment to just really enjoy myself.”

Brunch tickets are $18 per person plus a cash bar. Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the door.

The Juneteenth weekend in Wheeling will wrap up on Sunday with the return of the Ohio Valley’s Juneteenth Soul Food Cook-Off from 4-7 p.m. at Laughlin Memorial Chapel. Individuals, organizations and churches will submit their best dishes to compete in six soul food categories: chicken, mac and cheese, greens, potato salad, sweets and cornbread.

Admission is $5 to sample and vote for a favorite in each category. Celebrity judges will break any ties.

Last year was the first time the soul food cook-off was held, and Scott said they were “blown away” by the number of people involved and how many wanted to hold the event again. One of his favorite dishes last year was a red potato salad, noting that many unique forms of classic soul food dishes can be sampled.

“It was really unique to see how many different kinds of food people submitted for the same category during the cook-off,” Scott said.

Scott noted that this year’s celebrations were focused on entertainment and food to make the holiday as “universal as possible.” He added that residents would be able to realize that they can “have a good time” while recognizing a holiday like Juneteenth.

“Just from the temperature of how things have been socially in this country, we made things as universal as possible,” Scott said. “I think many folks are going to think that this is a celebration and holiday that is not for them. When planning, we wanted to make sure we had events that everybody can enjoy because most folks eat, listen to music and just like being around things that are entertaining today.”

Scott added that the celebrations would also unite the community by recalling the country’s “rich history of inclusion of others and overcoming adversity.”

“Since we’re kind of moving away from our melting pot identity of huddled masses yearning to be free, I wanted to remind people that we do have a history of becoming one from separate entities,” Scott said. “We’re having events like the movie showing on Friday because there are people who’ve never heard of it and others who consider it a staple of their childhood. It’s amazing that you can live in the same country, state or neighborhood and be so different, so we’re going to show the film so that everyone can see it and now have a history involving the film.”

Scott emphasized that no one should have reservations about contributing to the events, as the Juneteenth celebrations are “for anyone and everyone.”

“Anyone who had apprehensions about being involved and donating time or money, just know that next year we’ll be more than willing to let you participate and be a part of it, even though this year you may not have wanted to,” Scott said. “We will still be open and let you be a part of the celebrations next year as well.”