Seein’ Is Believin’, a Madison-based nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering youth and strengthening communities, will bring youth and families from the community together for the inaugural Juneteenth Black Excellence Bike or Hike Scavenger Hunt, a unique community celebration designed to honor Juneteenth while promoting physical activity, cultural learning, and community connection.
This free event will combine outdoor wellness, cultural education, family fun, and celebration of Black history and achievement on Friday, June 19, 5-8 p.m. at the Elver Park Pavilion Picnic Tables, located at 1250 McKenna Boulevard on Madison’s West Side.
“I wanted us to be able to celebrate Juneteenth with knowing the history of the people who make Black history Black history, and so I thought I would put trivia all around Elver Park and give families, teens, and kids opportunity to walk around, get points, learn trivia, and win prizes while celebrating Juneteenth,” Prenicia Clifton, founder of Seein’ Is Believin’, tells Madison365. “I also wanted to get folks out and moving in the outdoors. There’s a lot of healing, and there’s a lot of growth to be done in the outdoors, and whether the kids want to walk and find the different pieces or if they want to bike and find the different pieces, it’s just a fun way to get out and get moving, and to learn about Black culture during Juneteenth.”
Seein’ Is Believin’ is dedicated to empowering youth and strengthening communities through mental health education, personal development, outdoor wellness, violence prevention, cultural engagement, and positive youth development programming.
Participants of all ages are invited to bring a bicycle or explore on foot as they travel throughout Elver Park for the Juneteenth Black Excellence Bike or Hike Scavenger Hunt, Clifton says. There will be interactive “Black Excellence” stations featuring inventors, scientists, artists, entrepreneurs, athletes, activists, authors, and leaders whose contributions have shaped communities across the nation and around the world. Prizes will be awarded to individuals with the highest point totals for the Black Excellence Trivia Scavenger Hunt.
“There are over 100 questions hidden all over the park, so they’ll be able to learn as much as they want,” Clifton says. “It’s a two-and-a-half-hour event, so they’ll have to turn in all their cards by 7:30 p.m. and then we’ll announce the winners at 8 p.m.
Through a series of age-appropriate trivia challenges and educational exhibits, participants will learn about the resilience, innovation, leadership, and achievements that continue to influence American history and culture today. The event will feature multiple age divisions, including activities for young children, youth, teens, adults, and families.
Additional activities will include face painting, coloring stations, DJ Pain 1 and music, community resource tables, family-friendly activities, free drinks, snacks, prizes and giveaways.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, a day when African-American slaves in Texas were told by Union forces that they were free. They were the final group of slaves to realize their freedom. Deep in the Confederacy, they were unaware of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation almost two years earlier. A celebration of the day has been held annually in Texas ever since, which eventually spread to other states.
“Juneteenth is important to me. After spending time in Texas, really just celebrating and honoring the resilience of African American people. Even despite slavery ending, and the word not getting down in Texas, it means that we were responsible for healing and releasing ourselves, and we were responsible for getting the word down to Texas, so that we were free,” Clifton says. “So I think that Juneteenth is all about lifting up your own community. Juneteenth means making sure your whole community is educated, seen, and celebrated. It’s on us to do that.”
Friday’s night’s Juneteenth event is part of Seein’ Is Believin’s broader mission to increase access to positive youth development, mental wellness supports, culturally responsive programming, and community-based learning opportunities.
“I want to make this event an annual thing, and I want to do it every year before the big Juneteenth events that always happen on Saturday,” Clifton says. “I think just having a smaller version of Juneteenth that’s based on education, and really focuses on the young population, will get them more excited about going to the Saturday event, the big Juneteenth event.”
To register or learn more about the Juneteenth Black Excellence Bike or Hike Scavenger Hunt, click here.
