Juneteenth GVL Festival 2023

By Monica Montgomery

Photos Provided by The Juneteenth GVL Inc.

Juneteenth is a holiday that, until recent years, only a few cities or states outside of Texas celebrated. What is Juneteenth? It is the commemoration of the actual end of legalized slavery in the United States. Texas declared June 19th, or Juneteenth, “Emancipation Day in Texas,” a legal state holiday in 1980. Over the years, African-American communities have worked to educate and promote the acknowledgment of Juneteenth.

While visiting Dallas for work, Rueben Hayes first encountered a Juneteenth celebration in all its grandeur. “I didn’t learn about Juneteenth until 2013. I was on a work assignment for a hospital in Dallas, Texas. I had the opportunity to attend a Juneteenth festival, and I was blown away by how beautiful and culturally rich the event was,” Rueben Hayes explains. “There was music, art, dancing, food, oh my goodness, the food! I was just in awe of it all.”

Rueben was so impacted by what he experienced at his first Juneteenth festival in Dallas that he traveled to different Juneteenth festivals around the country for the four years that followed. “I’ve been to Atlanta, Nashville, and Columbia, and each festival was as amazing and impressive as the next,” Hayes shares.

Over the years, Rueben’s interest, knowledge, and excitement grew regarding the Juneteenth festivals, but starting a commemoration festival in Greenville, South Carolina, wasn’t in the plans. “As much as I enjoyed the commemoration celebrations, I never considered doing something like that in Greenville. The reason was that when I returned home, most people weren’t familiar with what Juneteenth really was in 2014 and 2015. Again, I didn’t learn the history of Juneteenth and how significant it was to African American culture as well as American history until I attended the Dallas festival in 2013,” Rueben confessed. Like so many, Rueben had heard the name Juneteenth but did not know its history, never making the connection to its significance as the actual moment of African-American independence in the U.S.

As an entrepreneur, one of the businesses Rueben owned was an entertainment company. “In the past, I had worked with large events and festivals. Organizing events is something I loved doing, but nothing on the scale of what was to come.” Yet in 2017, Rueben felt compelled to organize a Juneteenth commemoration festival in Greenville, South Carolina.

“I started contacting and making connections to make a Juneteenth festival a reality in 2018. But my surgical supply business experienced tremendous growth, and my priorities shifted,” Rueben explained. “I decided to put the festival plans on hold, believing I could pick them back up in 2018 or 2019 and launch the Greenville Juneteenth festival in 2020. Then the pandemic hit.”

Vandavid Vernon Co-Founder of Juneteenth GVL Inc

What initially appeared to be a setback was just another example of time and season. “The world shutting down due to the Covid pandemic sidelined us. But when President Biden made Juneteenth a national holiday in 2021, we knew it was the perfect time to get the plans for the festival back on track.”

Monopolizing on the momentum of Biden’s monuments decision to acknowledge June 19th as “African-American Independence Day,” Rueben and his partners began to plan and organize a festival unlike anything the city of Greenville had ever seen.

Rueben is the Executive Director and founder of Juneteenth GVL. His friend and partner in this venture, Vandavid Vernon, is the co-founder. Vandavid, CEO of Vernon Veteran Services, worked alongside Rueben to make the Greenville Juneteenth celebration a reality. “From the start, we knew there was a demand for what we were preparing, but we were still surprised at the level of support we received from the city of Greenville and sponsors,” Rueben explained.

Rueben and his team didn’t just want to celebrate Juneteenth; they wanted to educate their community and give them a cultural platform and experience; unlike anything they had ever seen. “It was important that we hold the festival here in Greenville and the upstate,” Rueben explained. “We wanted to expose our community to what Juneteenth means to Americans, not just African-Americans.”

The heart of the Juneteenth GVL Festival is based on these five pillars: Educate, Enhance, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. “We want people from every race, creed, and color to come out and take part. It’s an opportunity to celebrate the good in our shared history and educate and unite people,” Vandavid explained.

The inaugural 2022 Juneteenth GVL Festival was a three-day event that kicked off with the Juneteenth Gala. “One of my directors came up with a Juneteenth Gala. Since we had never attempted anything like that, we did extensive research to find a model for what we were trying to achieve. We found that there hadn’t been an event like it anywhere in the country,” Rueben explained. “The gala’s purpose was to raise funds so that the festival would be free to the community, but we could achieve so much more.”

There were over six-hundred attendees at the 2022 Juneteenth Gala. Patrons were treated to the crowning of the first Mr. and Ms. Juneteenth GVL, a fashion show, exhibits from local artists, and live music and dancing.

“In addition to meeting our goal for the festival, the success of the 2022 Juneteenth Gala allowed the foundation to give two $2,500 scholarships and donate $20,000 to non-profit African American organizations,” Rueben shared.

The Juneteenth GVL Inc. Committee

The 2022 Juneteenth Festival took place in Fall Park in Greensville. “We had between ten thousand and fifteen thousand attendees. It was amazing. The city hadn’t seen anything like it in its history. For our second year, we are hoping for twice the number of participants,” Rueben shared.

Rueben and Vandavid are both veterans, and helping fellow vets is something they are both passionate about. Bringing awareness to the mental and physical health within the community is essential to them, so they will use the platform to spotlight veterans’ mental, emotional, and physical health.

“The foundation was able to do so many great things in our first year, and we want to continue making an impact. This year we’ve added wellness events that support veterans and bring awareness to their daily struggles. There will be ‘Yoga with Vets’ to honor the twenty-two veterans who commit suicide each day. The 5K is called ‘Running for Zero.’ Again, we want to bring awareness to the alarming suicide rate of veterans, hoping to get them the support they need, ultimately bringing that number down to zero.”

Rueben Hays Jr. Founder of Juneteenth GVL Inc.

In addition to veteran support, the 2023 Juneteenth GVL Festival will host a job fair, an opportunity for people outside of their community to be educated on the impact of Juneteenth and why all should celebrate the holiday. “We hope to expand the festival,” Rueben said. “Not just to the upstate, but the entire state of South Carolina. I can see us hosting a Juneteenth State Fair,” Rueben explained.

Rueben and Vandavid’s vision for the future of the foundation and the festival is, in their words, lofty, but Rueben knew he couldn’t do it alone from the start. “When the idea of the Juneteenth Foundation was conceived, I prayed to God for wisdom. I knew I couldn’t do it on my own. So when he sent me to Vandavid, Peter, and another friend, I told them my vision. Then I told them I would only do it if they went with me. It’s been full steam ahead ever since,” Rueben shared.

Based on the success of their first year and how year two is shaping up, it’s clear that Rueben’s prayers were answered. With prudent planning, good connections, and a determined attitude, the Juneteenth GVL will establish a cultural icon in the community of Greensville and the upstate area that will exist for years to come. It will become the model that other state festivals immolate.

www.juneteenthgvl.com