With Juneteenth on Friday, you may have a longer weekend — with some businesses and offices closed for the day. The celebration of Emancipation Day commemorates June 19, 1865, the day when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, first learned of their freedom — two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
It’s one of the main events in Bloomington this weekend, but there’s more happening — from the opening of a unique learning center to movies, a double feature at the area’s drive-in theater and bee-related events since Bloomington is a Bee City USA member.
Juneteenth celebration at Switchyard Park
Here in Bloomington the celebration will be at Switchyard Park with music, food truck and activities for all ages from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Combining Bloomington Food Truck Friday (21 food vendors) with other groups providing live entertainment, local vendors and educational activities, there’s bound to be something you’ll enjoy. All activities will be outdoors; bring lawn chairs, blankets and be ready to have fun.
At 12:30 p.m. Indiana University Camp S.O.U.L. will provide a matinee performance. Then at 6:15 p.m. The Lucky Sevens will perform followed by Jenn Cristy.
Pollinator week events begin Thursday
Bloomington is part of Bee City USA and will have Pollinator Week BioBlitz and other events beginning Thursday, June 18, with the Pollinator Week Pop-Up exhibit 2-4 p.m. at the Lilly Library, 1200 E. Seventh St. The exhibit and all other pollinator related events are free and open to the public.
The documentary screening of “My Garden of a Thousand Bees,” will be 12:30-2 p.m. Sunday, June 21, at the Monroe County Public Library, 303 E. Kirkwood Ave. On Monday, June 22, the first of the bioblitz events will begin with the Monroe County Master Gardener Bioblitz from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Monroe County Courthouse. Another bioblitz will be 5-6:30 p.m. Monday at Park Ridge East Park. Registration for this and other bioblitz’s into the week can be made at https://tinyurl.com/428e63un.
Pride party dance Friday at The Root Cellar
Bloomington’s Axipitor will be at The Root Cellar for a Pride Dance Party 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday, June 19. There is no cover for the 21-plus party at 108 E Kirkwood Ave. (downstairs at FARMBloomington).
‘Toy Story 5,’ ‘Super Mario Galaxy’ on drive-in screen
Drive down south of Bloomington on Friday, June 19, and Saturday, June 20, before dusk to enjoy a double feature of “Toy Story 5” and “Super Mario Galaxy” at Starlite Drive-In Theatre, 7640 S. Old Ind. 37. Tickets are $10.50 for adults, $5.50 for children, senior citizens, military personnel and veterans; and $8.50 for students. Online ticket sales end 60 minutes before showtime. Additional tickets can be purchased at the gate, which opens at 8 p.m. with programming beginning at 9:45. For more, go online to https://starlitebloomington.com/.
Celebrate reopening of IGWS experimental learning lab
Everyone is welcome to help celebrate the reopening of the Indiana Geological and Water Survey (IGWS) at its new location north of Bloomington from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 20. The new site is at 5001 N. Ind. 37 Business.
The learning lab is an experimental learning center that brings IGWS collections out of storage for hands-on discovery. Celebrate the new location with games, crafts and fossils. Part museum, part lab and part classroom, the Learning Lab is where you can compare thousands of rocks, minerals and fossils; create art inspired by the collections; explore real-time datasets; and participate in interactive activities. Pull open some of the lab’s drawers and discover real specimens with some answers and questions about the world beneath your feet using scientific data.
Parking is free. More info is available at https://igws.iu.edu/learninglab
A different kind of egg hunt on Monday
Bring the kids, from birth to age 12, to the downtown Monroe County Public Library between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday, June 22, for a dinosaur egg hunt. The dinosaur eggs will be hidden throughout the children’s department. Kids who find them will win a special prize. There will be two hunting spaces available for different levels of challenge, so even little egg hunters can participate. The event is allergy friendly and non-food prizes will be available.
Contact Carol Kugler at ckugler@heraldt.com.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Celebrate Juneteenth, pollinator week at these Bloomington events
Reporting by Carol Kugler, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Carol Kugler, The Herald-Times | USA TODAY Network
