Juneteenth: Bridgeton’s Joint Celebration Thrills Community
Vendors at Bridgeton Juneteenth Celebration on July 21, 2025. Photo courtesy of City of Bridgeton
BY CLYDE HUGHES | AC JosepH Media
BRIDGETON – The much-anticipated collaborative Juneteenth celebration with the Bridgeton Urban Enterprise Zone, nonprofit KYMO with Tri City Box and Tri City H.O.P.E. turned out to be a spectacular day of unity on Saturday, June 21, organizers said.
The celebration along Bridgeton’s riverside downtown district was brought out young and old and people from across Cumberland County and beyond.
“Your energy, presence, and unity made the day unforgettable,” Stephanie Gonzalez, coordinator of the Bridgeton UEZ, said on Facebook.
“It was truly an honor to plan this first-ever Juneteenth celebration with the Bridgeton Urban Enterprise Zone — an organization I proudly represent. To our dedicated partners, your tireless efforts brought this vision to life.”
Jerry Young, whose Tri City H.O.P.E. organization had been involved with running a Juneteenth celebration since 2015, said Saturday’s event was one he would long remember.
Young posted a photo of him and Vineland’s Isiah Pacheco, the starting running back for the Super Bowl runner-up Kansas City Chiefs.
Tri City H.O.P.E. gave out its annual awards at the festival. The awards go to individuals and organizations that quietly go about the business of serving their respective communities, according to Young.
This year’s awards went to ecipients were Ashley Logan, Tahira Walker, Mr. & Mrs. Melvin Williams and Bettie’s Way Foundation.
He also announced that it would give out a lifetime achievement award named after Richie Kates
“We decided to name the award after a local citizen that quietly spent a lifetime making a positive difference in Cumberland County,” Young said on Facebook. “It took no time at all to come up with the person that we were going to name it after or who would be the inaugural recipient.
“Yesterday, while his widow, Gloria Kates, two of his sons, his brother, Charlie, and other family members and friends looked on, the Honorable Judge Demetrica Todd became the first recipient of The Richie Kates Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Tri City H.O.P.E.”
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