WATERLOO - A wet and dreary morning gave way to sunshine just in time for Saturday afternoon's celebration of Juneteenth at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center.

It was the break in the weather center coordinator Mary Theroith had been praying for, although with cooks already grilling ribs at 7:30 a.m. for the festivities there were no plans to cancel.

"We had something like, oh, 75 pounds of ribs, we made about 30 pounds of hamburger, we made about 35 pounds of hot dogs," said volunteer Monroe Stevens as he pulled racks of ribs off the grill.

And people showed up to eat the food. Stevens was expecting to run out before festivities wrapped up at 4 p.m.

A full lineup of singers and drill teams performed throughout the afternoon on Beech Street, which was closed off in front of the center. A cake walk also took place on the street. Inside, people were busy playing bingo.

It was the 10th annual Juneteenth celebration put on by the King Center, which is operated by Hawkeye Community College. The celebration marks June 19, 1865, the day news reached slaves in Galveston, Texas, that the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed two years earlier.

"We use it as a constant reminder of what's happened in the past and celebrate the Emancipation Proclamation," said Theroith. "We want to reiterate to the public what freedom means and not forget those who came before us."

Venella Byrd, who lives next to the center, enjoyed watching the performers from a tent set up to shelter people from the sun.

"The celebration is great, what it stands for is great and the Martin Luther King Center is great," she said. "They put on a lot of things to help the youth."

Jeff Farmer, who also was watching the performers, said he wanted to celebrate "the day that they abolished slavery. To me, I think it's so important to remember that as an African-American."

It was Farmer's first time at the Waterloo celebration, although he has attended Juneteenth events in Wisconsin during past years.

Jo Biggles and her husband, Michael, have regularly attended the event. Both are associate pastors at Christian Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, whose Faith Steppers Drill Team performed.

"It's kind of a coming together of the community," said Jo Biggles. "We're just having a good time in the Lord."

She said the children and teenagers attending and performing at the event belied the notion that all young people spend their summer getting into trouble.

"I'm enjoying watching the young people doing something other than getting into trouble," she said. "There's a flip side to what the news usually reports."

Contact Andrew Wind at (319) 291-1507 or andrew.wind@wcfcourier.com.