'Everybody is welcome here': Onset VFW celebrates Juneteenth
Jaide Thomas, 3, after getting a temporary tattoo during the Juneteenth picnic. Photos by Nick Mossman
Attendees ate catered food at the picnic.
A hot plate warming food that attendees could purchase.
There were balloons throughout the outdoor space 
Celebratory balloons were placed throughout the outdoor space. 
Children could get temporary tattoos during the picnic. 
Celeste Fernandes, 5, smiles with her Juneteenth meal.
Jaide shows off her temporary tattoo.
Attendees purchase food made by caterer KeriLynn Gomes.
Jaide Thomas, 3, after getting a temporary tattoo during the Juneteenth picnic. Photos by Nick Mossman
Attendees ate catered food at the picnic.
A hot plate warming food that attendees could purchase.
There were balloons throughout the outdoor space
Celebratory balloons were placed throughout the outdoor space.
Children could get temporary tattoos during the picnic.
Celeste Fernandes, 5, smiles with her Juneteenth meal.
Jaide shows off her temporary tattoo.
Attendees purchase food made by caterer KeriLynn Gomes.
From soccer games to massages to temporary tattoos, the Juneteenth picnic at the Onset Veterans of Foreign Wars Post on Friday, June 19 had something for everyone.
Around 60 people of all ages gathered outside the VFW on Friday afternoon to celebrate the holiday.
Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, became a federal holiday just five years ago in 2021. However, the holiday has been celebrated for over a century, with the first Juneteenth celebrations as early as 1866 to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, the westernmost confederate state, to announce that the more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in the state were free, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Hunt said that before having the picnic in Wareham, she was spending a lot of time in Providence and New Bedford for Juneteenth celebrations.
"We have Onset Beach, Wareham is big, and why aren't we doing it here?" she said. That idea grew into Wareham's Juneteenth celebration.
Onset VFW Commander Benjamin Baptiste also said that this year's celebration had better involvement than last year's.
According to organizer Jeannine Hunt, this is the second year that the Onset VFW has hosted a Juneteenth event. Hunt said that last year's picnic was small, but this year's turnout was great.
"I'm just watching people come and come and come and it just makes me happy," said KeriLynn Gomes, one of the picnic's organizers and caterer.
Hunt highlighted the relaxed atmosphere of the picnic.
"We're hanging out like you're in the backyard. We're celebrating and bringing people together for the meaning of Juneteenth," Hunt said.
Baptiste said that the Onset VFW looks to embed itself in the community and celebrating Juneteenth was part of that as a major holiday for the Black community.
"This is something that we celebrate, along with anything else in the community, so we welcomed it," Baptiste said.
Jaide Thomas, 3, nodded her head when asked if she had a good time. Her grandmother, Chiteara Thomas, said that she got to see her best friend at the picnic.
"We're grateful for the community," Gomes said. "Everybody is welcome here."
