‘It’s devastating’: Organizers, vendors lose thousands of dollars after Akron’s last-minute cancellation of Juneteenth celebrations

AKRON, Ohio — It was a sad and very frustrating day for many members of the Akron community Saturday, as Juneteenth celebrations were planned throughout the day, but none took place.

They were all canceled because on Friday evening, Akron city officials made a last-minute decision to cancel all large public events this weekend due to safety concerns following the mass shooting which took place in Akron on June 2.

“It’s devastating,” said Fela Sutton, one of the coordinators of the Akron Black Coalition’s 26th annual Juneteenth festival. “It hurts my heart. All the effort that went into this event. All the kids that aren’t here right now.”

She told 3News this Saturday as she looked out at an empty Stoner Hawkins Park, where the event was supposed to take place.

Sutton said six months of planning went unfulfilled.

“There are almost 100 to 200 kids here every year and we have so many supplies to distribute and we have so much food that is left at home now,” she continued. “I have to give it to the community and we have to figure out where we can still distribute these things to our children. I’m destroyed and my heart is broken. I don’t know what to do other than keep working to make sure that this be corrected.”

On Friday evening, Akron Mayor Shammas Malik announced the cancellation of 11 public events this weekend, sharing a letter he received from eight Akron council members requesting that Juneteenth celebrations be canceled, tensions still being high following the mass shooting of June 2 which left one dead. and 27 others injured at a party.

“When more than half of the Akron City Council says these events are irresponsible, I have to weigh that,” the mayor said.

Malik stressed there was no credible threat, but he wanted to take the letter seriously.

Sutton and co-organizer Matthew Talley are now expressing frustration at the loss of an important cultural moment and the tens of thousands of dollars their event vendors will lose.

“Things like this happen, they happen everywhere, they happen often, not just in Akron but across the country,” Talley said. “No one else is canceling their community events because of bad behavior at a private party.”

On Saturday afternoon, the Akron City Council released a statement saying it had not asked the mayor to cancel all large public events this weekend, but only those on June 19, concerned about ” the inequity of the ratio of police personnel for the different events”.

3News requested a response from the City of Akron, and they told us that “Chief Harding, Chief Henderson, Deputy Director of Services Eufrancia Lash and Mayor Malik have worked hard over the past week to ensure that there will be adequate security personnel for this weekend’s events. “.

Mayor Malik said during a news conference Friday that he was working with organizers and vendors of the Juneteenth weekend events to “make everyone whole.”

The city of Akron will now host a Juneteenth event on Wednesday at the John S. Knight Center.

Sutton and Talley say it won’t be the same.

“It’s a town event,” Talley said. “It’s a little different than a community event. It’s for the community, by the community. A lot of these vendors are set up to bring their tents. They’re used to outdoor events. It’s a whole different vibe. You can’t bring food trucks to the John S. Knight Center. There are some things you just can’t do. Kids can’t run free and play. It’s just a different environment. a bit as if the John S. Knight Center was the corporate version of the city, while this one is the community version.

But he encourages all sellers to attend the event in hopes of recouping their financial losses.

“It probably won’t help many of them, but at least it’s an opportunity for some of them to get some exposure and get some of their money back because they’ve invested a lot to be here,” Talley concluded.

The City of Akron is still finalizing details for Wednesday’s event.

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