Your Guide to the Emancipation Day Black Block Party
By Tianna Edwards
Emancipation Day celebrations kick off on Aug 1 to Aug 3 in Downtown Kingston and there are many ways to celebrate.
If you’re unfamiliar, Emancipation Day marks the actual day in 1834 that the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 came into effect across the British Empire. It technically marks the beginning of the end of enslavement here in Canada. It’s a great time to acknowledge the strength, resilience and joy of Black communities across Canada and here in Kingston. The City of Kingston has collaborated with the local Black community to bring you lots of awesome programming! Learn more about the details of the three day line up, here.
The biggest event of the three days is the Emancipation Day Black Block Party! This event highlights Black-owned businesses, artists and creators through various activities. Depending on your interests, I’ve highlighted (by category) what you might be interested in checking out on August 3!
If you love listening to live music, stop by Confederation park’s main stage anytime between 11:30am and 4:30pm and move to the beat of the incredibly talented line up of Black artists.
11:30am-12:30pm: Logan Brown is a musician and comedian who blends music and comedy together! Come check out his unique set that will kick off an afternoon of entertainment
12:30-1:00pm: Kyra Daniels is a local teen whose voice and experience in the industry would make you think she’s been at this for decades! You can listen to her latest singles “Be Free” and “Words Mean Something” ahead of her performance on Aug 3.
1:00pm-2:00pm: Danni Hope Edwards is a local artist with the most velvety voice! Her music video for her single “Coming Home” was voted best music video in the Kingston Canadian Film Fest 2024. Watch it here!
2:30pm-3:30pm: Keaton Ryan’s name might be familiar to you, he’s a local hip hop artist that recently performed at Skeleton Park Arts Fest.
4:00pm-4:30pm: Ryan Lewis and his band will be closing out the day of live entertainment!
If you like to move your feet to a peppy beat, Dansani Dance studio will be doing dance workshops on the main stage for adults and kids!
Catch them 2:00pm-2:30pm for the adult dance workshop and 3:45pm-4:00pm for a kids dance workshop!
There will be four amazing food vendors cooking up and selling foods from across the diaspora!
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Local caterer, Ella’s Cuisine, will have authentic African dishes like smokey party jollof rice, chicken, beef or turkey in pepper sauce or grilled options. They will also have grilled fish, fried rice, fried plantain, poundo yam and egusi soup, meatpies, puffpuffs.
- Ruthy’s Reading Room will be doing a reading and activity with the theme of Emancipation for kids from 2:30-3:30pm in the Amphitheatre next to Springer Market Square. Kids will learn a little bit about Emancipation Day and participate in a fun craft.
- Kingston Frontenac Public Library will have a selection of books and activities for kids available all day.
- Roots and Wings will be set up at the Queer Collage Collective booth with a free collage station all day long. If you’re unfamiliar, Roots and Wings is a grassroots working group of OPIRG Kingston, that serves youth of colour between the ages of 8 and 14. Their free programming is targeted towards femme, trans, Two-Spirit, and gender non-conforming adolescents. Through Roots and Wings, youth engage in structured and enjoyable activities centered around heritage building, community engagement, identity exploration, skill development, and social justice.
- Sponsored by Agnes Etherington Art Centre, artist Emebet Belete will be holding a crocheting workshop on the grass behind the Tourism Kingston building all day to support her latest project, Building Bridges.Belete is an artist and educator who was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A graduate of the Addis Ababa Fine Arts School and Queen’s University, her artistic practice reflects her cross-cultural observations living in Ethiopia, Canada and Asia. Her work ranges from oil and acrylic to collage and mixed media and can be seen at her website.
- Chelle Boo Shaa will be selling prints and doing portraits all day! She’s a local artist whose work has been featured at Union Gallery as well as Modern Fuel. She recently created the logo for Fine Balance’s Lime Lager, Afro Dreams.
- Queer Collage Collective will have collaging all day long at their booth. It’s the most relaxing activity! QCC is a collage art collective that runs programs that interweave creativity and education, centering Black, racialized, and 2SLGBTQ+ youth and their learning for social justice, community building, and making creative spaces with a culture of anti-racism and anti-oppression. QCC’s work is guided by the principles of anti-oppression, anti-racism, and 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion.
- CB Butterlicious: Find all-natural skincare products, iIncluding: black soap, whipped shea butter, body scrubs, body oils, lip balms, lip gloss, hand soap, face oil made from prickly seed oil, and bar soap.
- Cher Mere: Find a selection of the natural, eco-conscious and sustainable skin and hair care products that can be found at either of Cher Mere’s two locations! All products are made in Trinidad.
- Omez Haircare: natural hair products with authentic African and cruelty-free ingredients designed to promote healthy hair growth, improve hair texture, and enhance overall hair health.
- Zion Ascend: Find therapeutic products, including balms, salves, sprays, body butters and teas, which have been meticulously formulated using natural, therapeutic ingredients. Each product is designed to balance, support and enhance the well-being and specific needs of the user.
- Braider: Destiny will be set up between 11 am - 1 pm braiding hair free of charge!
- Prosfata empowers experienced newcomers and international students in Canada by connecting them with industry-specific career mentors. Founder, Norman Musengimana, will be present to answer questions and share more about how he supports budding entrepreneurs.
- BmDodo is a local design and marketing firm and their mission is to “make the world a better place through design” If you’re local, you’ve likely seen their work on buses and in local campaigns. Learn more about the impactful work they do!
- The Candid Creative is a local photographer “driven by passion, candidness and authenticity. A multidisciplinary company with the goal of inclusivity, freedom and self-expression in mind.”
- Pedal Works Cafe & Studios will be set up to share more about their location at Portsmouth and Princess that houses a spin studio, yoga space, coffee shop and art - test out the bike and enter a raffle to win prizes!
Full list of participating businesses: Prosfata Inc., Classy hair and nails, Queer Collage Collective, Ella’s Cuisine, BmDodo Strategic Design, The Candid Creative Co, Lemoy J. Whilby, DANSANI Dance Company, Pedal Works Café & Studios, Inc, OMGosh BBQ, Skeleton Park Creations, Cher-Mere, CB Butterlicious, Chelle Boo Shaa, Zion Ascend, Afiya beauty, Bay Eats, Jerkebago, Omez Haircare.
Join the celebrations at the Emancipation Day Black Block Party on Saturday, August 3rd from 11am - 5pm in Confederation Park & Springer Market Square!
Tianna Edwards
Tianna is a wife and mom of two young kids with a day job as an Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Coordinator at Queen's. She takes pride in living in Kingston and loves celebrating all things local (mostly food related!) through her blog, Keep up with Kingston. Follow Tianna's blog for more local food, culture and shop inspo. Get the latest from her over on instagram.
