Pittsburgh has figured out a way to defuse a controversy over dueling Juneteenth celebrations: Give money to both. The city is now poised to help fund two separate Juneteenth events next month after a longtime event organizer last week condemned Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration for initially proposing to steer cash
Pittsburgh is poised to launch a city-run Juneteenth event this year. City Council preliminarily approved a $125,000 contract with Bounce Marketing and Events to put on a festival next month. But the organizer of a long-running Juneteenth festival says he should have been given that money.
The longtime organizer of Pittsburgh’s most well-known Juneteenth festival harshly condemned Mayor Ed Gainey on Wednesday after learning that the city will not fund his event but will instead pay for a separate celebration of the federal holiday by a different promoter. The move marks a shift by Pittsburgh, which
Pittsburgh City Council pressed Mayor Ed Gainey's administration with questions before the vote, but gave preliminary OK to city plans to contract with a firm to stage the city's own sponsored Junenteeth celebration.