{"id":62653,"date":"2026-02-16T16:57:36","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T21:57:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=62653"},"modified":"2026-02-16T16:57:40","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T21:57:40","slug":"celebrate-culture-community-at-lakelands-black-history-festival-at-jackson-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2026\/02\/16\/celebrate-culture-community-at-lakelands-black-history-festival-at-jackson-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrate Culture & Community at Lakeland\u2019s Black History Festival at Jackson Park"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On Saturday, February 21, 2026, the City of Lakeland will kick off Black History Month celebrations with a Black History Festival at Jackson Park and the Coleman-Bush Building, located at 1104 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Lakeland. This free event which begins at 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., is open to all ages, and promises to be an unforgettable day filled with exciting live performances, cultural enrichment, and family-friendly fun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s Black History Festival will showcase dynamic local rhythmic dancers and inspirational spoken word artists throughout the day. Community members will also have the opportunity to stroll through the park to explore artisan vendors, enjoy an assortment of savory food truck options, and check out a classic car exhibition. There will also be educational and entertaining interactive children\u2019s activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The celebration continues inside the historic Coleman-Bush Building, where visitors can experience a powerful permanent history exhibit showcasing the story of Lakeland\u2019s Black community and its pioneers. The exhibit will feature an interactive touchscreen display that highlights the remarkable contributions and lasting impact of African Americans in Lakeland. While attending the Black History Festival, we invite you to step inside the Coleman-Bush Building to explore the contents of a 25-year-old time capsule and help commemorate the building\u2019s 50-year anniversary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are incredibly fortunate to have engaged citizens and civic leaders who collaborate with our team to ensure the history of our neighborhoods is honored and celebrated. We\u2019re excited to join the community in commemorating Black History Month at this year\u2019s festival and reflecting on the rich legacy preserved within the Coleman-Bush Building,\u201d shares Bob Donahay, Director of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black History Month is a time to celebrate the achievements of African Americans and recognize vital contributions to United States history. Founded by historian Carter G. Woodson, this month-long observance has been officially recognized by the U.S. government since 1975, with Canada and the United Kingdom also dedicating time to this important celebration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information, visit LakelandGov.net\/ColemanBush or call 863-834-3350 ext. 1. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vendors interested in participating in this event should email ColemanBush@Lakelandgov.net. Vendor space is limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t miss this powerful celebration of culture, history, and community. We look forward to seeing you there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Saturday, February 21, 2026, the City of Lakeland will kick off Black History Month celebrations with a Black History Festival at Jackson Park and the Coleman-Bush Building, located at 1104 Martin… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62654,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvaTAud3AuY29tXC9sYWtlbGFuZGdhemV0dGUuaW5mb1wvbmV3c1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNlwvMDJcLzI2LUJsYWNrLUhpc3RvcnktRmVzdGl2YWxfU29jaWFsX1ZlcnRpY2FsLVNvY2lhbC1zY2FsZWQud2VicD9maXQ9ODE5JTJDMTAyNCZzc2w9MSIsInR4dCI6IkNlbGVicmF0ZSBDdWx0dXJlICZhbXA7IENvbW11bml0eSBhdCBMYWtlbGFuZFx1MjAxOXMgQmxhY2sgSGlzdG9yeSBGZXN0aXZhbCBhdCBKYWNrc29uIFBhcmsiLCJ0ZW1wbGF0ZSI6ImhpZ2h3YXkiLCJmb250IjoiIiwiYmxvZ19pZCI6MTYzMDQwNjYxfQ.qFXPGFZPxt6hwe2kIbaS0q29MfvMJPhQ-_fE-F9QSY4MQ"},"version":2,"attached_media":[{"id":62654,"url":"http:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/26-Black-History-Festival_Social_Vertical-Social-scaled.webp","type":"image\/png"}]},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[12,14],"tags":[13664],"class_list":["post-62653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","category-news","tag-celebrate-culture-community-at-lakelands-black-history-festival-at-jackson-park"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62653"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62655,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62653\/revisions\/62655"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}