Grab a blanket and lawn chair for this day out at the park, coordinated by Pease Park Conservancy, the Rise Project, and Outreach Productions in celebration of Austin’s freedom communities. These were Black communities founded by formerly enslaved people after Emancipation, and their cultural impact on later generations gets center stage here. Activities include a Sweet Home Baptist Church choir performance, poetry by Zell Miller III, guest appearances by freedom community descendants Ms. Vessie and Ms. Flo, kids’ arts & crafts with author Deborah Orr, and a whole host of interactive booths from local places like Raising Roots Gardening, the Austin History Center, and Black Austin Tours. – James Scott
