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Carnival draws crowd to McGuffey
By ELISE McKEOWN SKOLNICK
YOUNGSTOWN
Cars lined the streets surrounding McGuffey Centre, and people filed its grounds.
They were there to enjoy the first of three events to celebrate the center’s 70th anniversary.
The carnival Saturday offered entertainment, including the African drumming and dancing of the Harambee Youth Group.
Some carnival-goers joined in the dancing.
Taylor Pegram of Aurora attended the carnival with her grandmother, who lives on the city’s East Side, where the center is located.
The dancing was Pegram’s favorite part of the carnival.
“[The dancers] were really good,” Pegram, 14, said.
Sonja Lynn watched her granddaughter, Brittany Floyd, 10, perform with the Harambee dancers.
“I think everybody enjoyed [the performance]. I did. I thought it was excellent. I thought the girls did awesome,” she said.
She and grandson Floyd Avery, 2, stayed to enjoy other parts of the carnival.
“It’s a good activity for the children who can’t get away,” Lynn said. “The economy’s bad, and kids can’t get away, so it’s something for them to come out and do. And we don’t have many things in the inner city for them to do.”
People also had plenty of food options. They could choose from pizza, french fries, hot dogs, popcorn, barbecued-pork sandwiches and more.
Gregory Gary of Hubbard attended to reminisce and catch up with people he hadn’t seen in a long time. He worked and volunteered at the center as a football coach for many years.
He isn’t surprised the center has lasted for 70 years. There was a lot of community involvement in the center that kept it going, he said.
The carnival was combined with a Juneteenth celebration. Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, is an American holiday celebrated June 19 that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. The observance got its start in Texas and is now recognized as a state holiday in 36 states, including Ohio.
Steffon Jones, a Civil War historian, was on hand to portray both Union and Confederate black soldiers.
Though Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery, it’s important, he said, to also remember the black soldiers, both Union and Confederate, who fought during the war.
“I’m here celebrating Juneteenth, the end of slavery, but also I’m telling about black Confederate soldiers that fought during the Civil War,” he said. “I think as a historian, you can’t just tell one side of the story. I’m just here to tell the story of the black Union and Confederate soldiers.”
Other McGuffey anniversary events include an old-school party and dance at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and an Evening in Elegance at 5:30 p.m. July 9.