Paducah’s 8th of August celebrations – a regional holiday that marks when some Black Kentuckians and Tennesseans learned that slavery had been abolished in America – kick off Wednesday.
This year, the theme is “Golden Jubilee: Celebrating 50 Years of Heritage and Hope” – marking five decades of the W.C. Young Community Center, which has hosted 8th of August celebrations since its construction.
The center was originally named the Paducah Community Center, but was renamed to honor its founder W.C. Young, a Black community leader who fought against poverty and injustice.
Events this year begin Wednesday and run through Sunday.
Wednesday will feature a W.C. Young open house event from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Robert Cherry Civic Center, a back to school dance and foam party from 7 to 9 p.m. at the W.C. Young Community Center and line dancing from 8 to 10 p.m.
On Thursday, there will be a Lincoln High School day party from 2 to 8 p.m. at the community center, the Ms. & Mr. Eighth of August Pageant from 6 to 8 p.m. at Paducah Middle School and a teen party from 9 p.m. to midnight, also at the community center.
Friday will begin with the Emancipation Breakfast from 7 to11 a.m. at Washington Street Family Life Center. Later that day, at 10 a.m, a historical marker will be unveiled at the site of the former Lincoln High School – on 8th Street between Ohio and Tennessee Streets in Paducah – which was where most of the area’s young Black people attended school in the days before integration. There will also be a black soil food giveaway at noon at the W.C. Young Community Center with a , with a Golden Extravaganza Gala to be held at the Walker Hall Events Center in downtown Paducah at 8 p.m.
Saturday’s events will include a 5K run at 7 a.m. at Robert Coleman Park and a parade at 10 a.m. along Walter Jetton Boulevard. Robert Coleman Park will also be the site of a block party, starting at noon, and, starting at 1 p.m., a car show.
Eighth of August celebrations will conclude after a salute to gospel music at Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, which begins at 4 p.m. Sunday.
An itinerary of Eighth of August celebrations, including links to purchase tickets to limited events, can be found on the Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau website or the W.C. Young Eighth of August Newsletter.
