The Butterfly Effect Project invites the community to a Juneteenth celebration Thursday

The Butterfly Effect Project will host its Second Annual Juneteenth Event on Thursday afternoon.

The free event, dubbed “A Celebration of Community” will offer food, entertainment, unique products and services from more than 32 local vendor and collaborators, BEP said in a press release.

“This event is all about giving back and celebrating together,” the organization said. Everything at the event will be provided at no charge to visitors. It takes place from 12 noon to 3 p.m. at The Butterfly Effect, located at 1146 Main Road in Riverhead. 

This is BEP’s second annual Juneteenth celebration, but the first one it’s hosting at its new home. A donor purchased the property for the nonprofit organization last year, providing offices, classrooms, and a 1 ½ acre campus, giving it room to grow. 

Founded in March 2014 by Riverhead native Tia Fulford to mentor girls in underserved communities, it began with eight girls from the Riverhead-Flanders area. Since then, it has grown to more than 700 girls and boys in 31 chapters across eastern Suffolk. Until last fall, its offices were housed in the basement of First Baptist Church of Riverhead.

“Let’s celebrate how far we’ve come together,” the group said in its announcement of the event. “Don’t miss out on this day of giving back to the community! It’s our way of honoring Juneteenth’s history through fellowship, generosity, and sharing.”

Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, is a holiday that marks the date in 1865 when news of President Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the Emancipation Proclamation — two years earlier — was brought to Galveston, Texas by Union Army Major General Gordon Granger.

Juneteenth has been celebrated by African Americans with community gatherings since the 1800s. It was recognized as a federal holiday by an act of Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2021. 

The holiday has been celebrated locally for more than two decades, with events organized by the East End Voters Coalition at Stotzky Park in Riverhead and Ludlam Avenue Park. 

Last year, East End Voters Coalition co-founder Robert “Bubbie” Brown decided it was time to pass the torch to the next generation. He called Fulford, who serves as BEP’s executive director, and she embraced the idea with characteristic enthusiasm.

BEP’s inaugural Juneteenth event in 2024, cohosted by First Baptist Church of Riverhead, was a great success, drawing a couple hundred guests, Fulford said afterwards.