Concerns over venue and outstanding debt put Pittsburgh's Juneteenth festival into question
Juneteenth is a national holiday celebrating Black emancipation, but this year's festival in Pittsburgh is in doubt.
For the past two years, promoter B. Marshall and the city have knocked heads over his Juneteenth festival in Point State Park, and this year's plan to move the event to Mellon Park in the city's East End is no exception.
"Every year, it seems to be like a different issue that comes up. Regretfully," he said.
Marshall has not yet been approved for two permits: one from the city to use the park and another from PennDOT to close down Penn Avenue.
While Councilwoman Erika Strassburger says she'd like to work with Marshall, she has heard from surrounding neighborhoods that oppose shutting down Penn and think the park is too small, especially for a headlining concert by R&B artist Morris Day.
"Holding a concert that could attract 10,000, maybe even 20,000 people, at Mellon Park feels as if it's too high a usage and too much pressure on such a small amount of land," she said.
But Marshall has rejected suggestions to move the festival to the more expansive Hazelwood Green, saying Mellon has ample space.
"Ten thousand people inside Mellon Park each day will look like it's empty," he said.
In a statement, PennDOT says a permit to close Penn Avenue has neither been approved nor denied, saying the "applicant needs to address several issues." Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak said the city's approval is largely dependent on whether Penn Avenue is shut down.
"The only concerns that we have are how to adequately route transportation around the area depending on whether Penn Avenue is closed," he said.
But there is also the question of Marshall's outstanding debt to the city from festivals past. Records of unpaid invoices show he owes close to $17,000 for police security going back to 2023, including a bill for $13,790 from last year. Marshall says that debt has been forgiven, but the city says it isn't and would like to collect the money before the festival goes on.
"That alone is not a reason to deny the permit, though it is something we're working with Mr. Marshall on," Pawlak said.
When KDKA-TV asked Marshall if he thinks this year's Juneteenth festival will happen in Mellon Park, he replied, "Oh, most definitely it's going to happen in Mellon Park. It would be tens of thousands of people who would be very disappointed if the city or somebody else decided they wanted to try to stop the festival from being in Mellon Park."
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