5th Annual Emancipation Jubilee 

We are proud to host the 5th Annual Windsor-Essex Emancipation Jubilee, our flagship community celebration. This signature event brings together culture, food, art, music, fashion, and powerful voices from political and community leaders. The Jubilee is a tribute to the history, resilience, and joy of Windsor’s Black community—and a meaningful platform for you to show your support for belonging and cultural pride.

The Emancipation Jubilee commemorates the Slavery Abolition Act of August 1, 1834, which ended slavery throughout the British Colonies, including Canada and parts of the Caribbean. The Jubilee promotes the vibrancy of the Black communities and individuals that make Windsor and Essex County their home today. It also revitalizes a longstanding celebration of historic importance to the Black communities along the Windsor to Toronto corridor.

The legendary Emancipation Celebrations of old, with their 4-hour long parades, fashion and talent shows, Miss Sepia Beauty contest, guest speakers like Eleanor Roosevelt and Martin Luther King and the 30,000 visitors it brought to the area each year, live in the memories of Windsor-Essex residents. Many local residents have longed to see the revival of Canada’s Emancipation Day in Windsor, especially since it was officially proclaimed by the Federal Government in 2021. This year continues the revitalization of a decades-long tradition, and we invite you to be part of it.