St. Cloud Holds 23rd Annual Juneteenth Celebration [GALLERY]

ST. CLOUD -- Members of the community gathered in Riverside Park to celebrate Juneteenth on Friday night. This marks the 23rd year St. Cloud has held the event.

There was a free cookout, arts and crafts, activities for families, community organization booths, voter registration and music.

Juneteenth is an annual celebration honoring the anniversary of the official end of slavery in the United States in June of 1865.

Although the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, it took two more years and an official surrender by the Confederacy before the executive order was enforced in the state of Texas.