The city of Rocky Mount’s annual Juneteenth Community Empowerment Festival will be held Friday, June 2 from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday, June 3 from 11:45 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

The festival, coordinated by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department and the Community Empowerment committee, includes a bike rodeo, a keynote speaker, information about Juneteenth and headlining acts on Friday night and Saturday evening. 

This year, the city will announce the two headlining acts via mobile messaging on Thursday, Mar. 30, 2017 at 4 p.m. To find out who will be performing at Juneteenth, text CITYBEAT to 55469. 

“We always try to find an innovative way to let those interested know first who is performing at our annual Juneteenth festival,” says Public Affairs Manager Tameka Kenan-Norman. “In previous years, we have done trivia and made the announcement on Facebook and Twitter. This will be the first time we have utilized our mobile messaging campaign.” 

According to Kenan-Norman, subscribers to the city’s text messaging feature will be notified Thursday, Mar. 30, while others won’t receive the information until Monday, April 3. Once individuals are signed up for this announcement, they may continue to be among the first to receive information about upcoming city events and initiatives.