By Jeremy W. Steele
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Kama Morgan sat on the edge of Mirror Lake with her daughter and mother Saturday, watching the children's area and Cincinnati Zoo booth.

In the background, the blues sounds of H-Bomb Ferguson echoed across the water.

"They came to get me out of the house," Morgan, an Over-the-Rhine resident, said of her parents, who brought her and her children to the 16th annual Juneteenth festival.

Festivalgoers could walk along Eden Park's Mirror Lake to check out information booths and activities for children or listen to live music on two stages. Music acts ranged from gospel to hip-hop.

Afternoon showers and temperatures in the 80s might have kept some people away. Although attendance estimates were not immediately available, festival organizers and longtime visitors noted a smaller turnout than last year.

The festival, part of a nationwide celebration that marks the end of slavery in the United States, usually attracts more than 5,000 people annually.

"It's a family-oriented festival," said Lydia Morgan, chairwoman of the Cincinnati Juneteenth Committee Inc. "It is put together to make people feel good about themselves."

Juneteenth began in Galveston, Texas, when Union troops marched into the city June 19, 1865, and delivered the news that the Civil War was over. The date was celebrated the following year as Emancipation Day. Similar festivals took root across the country.

Cincinnati's festival, however, almost didn't happen this year. Budget cutbacks forced the Cincinnati Parks Board to slash funding to the festival from $5,000 to $1,000. Organizers didn't have a full slate of entertainment lined up until this week.

Organizers were able to pull in last-minute acts and line up donations to hold the event.

"It's an inspiring kind of festival and I hate it that we have to struggle to have it every year," Morgan said. "But we do it, and it happens every year."

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E-mail jsteele@enquirer.com