His message will be wrapped in his new single release titled “Pretty/Okay.”
But Columbus singer Alfonso Wadholm, better known to some as Alfie the Artist, hopes the Juneteenth/Ethnic Expo celebration in downtown Columbus Saturday will be much better than just OK. He’ll be among the six-act entertainment along the two blocks of Fourth Street off each side of Washington Street.
“I really want to find ways to push myself out there,” Wadholm said. “I’ve been telling people to come on out. So I’m pretty stoked.”
This will mark his local debut as a solo artist performing what he labels as original “chill hip hop” and “feel-good tunes.” Most recently, he played in a local cover band called Bartholomew.
The free event from 2 to 9 p.m. is the first in a series of four Ethnic Expo Event Series that represents a collaboration among the Columbus Area Visitors Center and a variety of ethic and cultural organizations. Juneteenth marks the official end of slavery in the United States as Texas became the last Confederate state to release its slaves 150 years ago — three years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
The day was first celebrated in 1865.
Besides, Wadholm, other performers are:
- Dancer Kamile Wilson
- Musician Blair Bl
ed
- soe
- D3 Steppers drill team
- Divine 9
- Sistah Koko spoken word performance
The Columbus/Bartholomew County Area Chapter of the NAACP, which has marked the day locally since 2002 at locales such as Donner Center and Ninth Street Park, is working alongside the visitors center and staffer Haley Anderson to plan the gathering that will include 20 vendors, including beer vendors at the end of Fourth Street.
In the past, until the past two Juneteenth events, crowds normally ranged from 200 to 300 in attendance.
“That would be awesome,” Anderson said.
Vendors serving food are:
By Word of Mouth Catering and More
Barbecue Junction
Big D’s Soul Food
Big JT’s Craft Barbecue
Elaine Smith of Word of Mouth Catering and More is excited about her menu of the public’s favorites that include the family’s barbecued pulled pork and collard greens that many diners remember from Expo over the years. However, their booth has been absent from major events for about three years. So she hopes absence has made their customers’ hearts grow fonder.
In fact, a woman told NAACP President Johnnie Edwards the other day that “Word of Mouth’s collard greens are the only reason I come to Ethnic Expo.”
“That gives me a good feeling inside that we have a cultural talent that can make someone happy,” Smith said.
Edwards, who has been particularly outspoken about minority issues in the past year, earlier this year pointed out that Juneteenth can serve as a element of education about Black history.
“Even though it has been more than a century since enslaved people were liberated, Black Americans are still not given the same freedoms awarded to citizens of other races,” Edwards said in a statement. “However, that does not mean Juneteenth for our culture should not be commemorated.
“It does mean that while we honor the Black community and all they have accomplished and defeated, it’s also important to remember more work is to be done.”
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What: A Juneteenth celebration combined with Ethnic Expo-style cuisine reflecting Black culture and more.
When: 2 to 9 p.m. Saturday.
Where: On Fourth Street on either side of Washington Street in downtown Columbus.
Admission: Free.
Food and drink: Four food vendors plus beer sales on each end of Fourth Street.
Information: Facebook page for
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