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Vienna’s annual Juneteenth celebration could begin with a parade through town in 2025, adding a new kickoff to the community’s Liberty Amendments Month events.

First Baptist Church of Vienna, which typically hosts the Juneteenth festivities, has proposed holding the parade Saturday, June 14, from 10 to 11 a.m. The Vienna Town Council is set to consider a memorandum of understanding with the church after several discussions with town staff.

The parade would begin at Maple Avenue and Mill Street, travel west on Maple Avenue, turn right onto Nutley Street and finish at the church at 450 Orchard Street NW. There would be no rain date.

Participation would be capped at 50 entries, including no more than three floats. The event would generally follow the same rules used for James Madison High School’s fall homecoming parade.

The route would require closures on Mill Street, where participants would assemble, and in Maple Avenue’s westbound lanes. About 15 Vienna police officers would manage the closures at an estimated cost of $8,000.

Under the proposed agreement, police would not escort the procession after it turns onto Nutley Street. The church would instead install and remove barricades along that portion of the route.

Town staff said approval of the parade would mean no additional municipal resources or overtime for the Juneteenth Festival because available staffing and overtime would be directed toward police coverage for the procession.

Although a date for the 2025 festival had not been announced, the parade appeared likely to lead directly into it. In past years, the festival has taken place on the Saturday before June 19 and opened Vienna’s Liberty Amendments Month programming.

Town Manager Mercury Payton conceived Liberty Amendments Month, which Vienna first recognized in 2021. The observance builds on Juneteenth, marking the 1865 emancipation of enslaved people in Texas, by highlighting the 13th, 14th, 15th and 19th amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Those amendments abolished slavery, guaranteed citizenship to people born or naturalized in the United States, and expanded voting rights regardless of race or gender. Some of those rights face challenges from the current federal administration.

The proposed agreement calls for First Baptist Church to work with a Liberty Amendments Month leadership committee so that each amendment is represented in the Juneteenth and Liberty Amendments Month Kick-Off Parade.

Liberty Amendments Month, which has also received recognition from the Virginia General Assembly, has previously featured history discussions, naturalization ceremonies, musical performances and children’s storytimes in Vienna.