Juneteenth 2025 in San Diego: Where to Celebrate: Top Festivals and Events

When it comes to a free Juneteenth celebration, the Paddle for Peace is at the top of our list! We love this all age, family-friendly event so much that we included it as part of our complete guide to the holidays in San Diego for 2025.

Held at La Jolla Shores beach on Saturday, June 21st, you can expect live performances, delicious BBQ, and plenty of activities. The event kicks off at 8:00am with a group run lead by the Urban Run Club and Rez Runner, includes a panel discussion hosted by Ya Girl Cedes, an African Drum Circle performance, and volleyball tournament before the closing remarks at 3:30pm.

Music, art, games, community vendors, and even FREE surf lessons are included. I say, put this on your calendar right now because you won’t want to miss out.

Location and Cost

The 5th Annual Juneteenth at the Beach x Paddle for Peace is happening at La Jolla Shores. If you need an address to put into your GPS, use this one: 8400 El Paseo Grande San Diego, CA 92037.

Festivities start at 8:00am and run through 4:00pm. There is free parking onsite, so you don’t have to worry. You can also look into taking the San Diego Trolley and a short San Diego rideshare or use the bus service to get you there if you don’t have a car or just don’t want to drive.

The event is free to attend but they do sell a food ticket which includes burgers, hotdogs, potato salad, chips, and drinks for $12.50.

Black Independence Day will be celebrated proudly at this year’s R&B Block Party.

One thing our team at Go Visit San Diego wants to point out is that this event is being held before the actual Juneteenth holiday. The Juneteenth block party is scheduled for June 14th, just a few days before Juneteenth itself on June 19th. Party time is from 5:00pm until 10:00pm.

As someone that proudly remembers the 90’s, I love that this event features the era's Hip Hop, R&B, rap music and more. It’s being advertised as a step back in musical time with jams from the 90’s and early 2000’s but the DJ will be sure to include some Top 40 hits from today as well.

This party is a 21 and older event, so keep that in mind before you get your tickets.

Location and Cost

The big party will be held in the East Village neighborhood at Quartyard, a really cool container park with food trucks, beer, coffee, and even a dog park! Unfortunately for the R&B Block Party, no pets are allowed, but service animals are welcome. The venue is located at 1301 Market Street, San Diego, CA 92101.

The 2025 event is looking like it may be a complete sell out so if you’re interested in attending, I’d recommend you get your tickets soon. You can buy your tickets online. Prices are currently $32 with advanced purchase and will be $37 on the day of the event.

Here’s a little insider tip from your friends at Go Visit San Diego…if you arrive early, you may also want to check out the area’s local art galleries and studios like The Vault Gallery and Pinch Pottery Studio.

You can celebrate Juneteenth with your entire family all day long at the Annual Juneteenth Multicultural Celebration in Downtown Oceanside.

The event is set to take place on June 21st from 10:00am until 5:00pm. Street fair vendors will be selling a variety of crafts, food and health related products, plus there will be plenty of ready to eat food options. You won’t go hungry!

Informational and health awareness booths will be sprinkled throughout the celebration. Be sure to stop by and see what they have to offer. I love to explore these types of booths with my family as I think they often offer a wealth of information.

Make sure to bring your kids because the Youth Zone will offer games, face painting, crafts, and other fun things for the kids. Keep an eye out for professional and local performers, including some really nice jazz music which I always enjoy, as they’ll be set up to entertain the crowds throughout the day.

Our team at Go Visit San Diego likes the variety of this event so much that we decided to include it as part of our complete guide to all the holidays in San Diego because it’s family-friendly and jam-packed with activities for the entire family.

Location and Cost

The North San Diego County (NSDC) NAACP will host its annual Juneteenth Multicultural Celebration in Downtown Oceanside at 311 N Tremont St Oceanside, CA 92054.

Bring the whole family down for this free event!

The Kinfolk Fest, a celebration of culture, community, and freedom will take over Waterfront Park on Saturday, June 14th, 2025 a few days before the actual holiday.

The event, celebrating ‘black joy, black culture, and black music’ opens at 12:30pm and will go strong until 9:00pm. You can take advantage of the beautiful sunny San Diego skies and mild temperature as live DJs and performers entertain the crowds with R&B, Afrobeats, and Hip-Hop.

Our team at Go Visit San Diego agreed that this will be an awesome event to attend especially because of the Black Owned Marketplace, which is sure to have a wide variety of unique items for sale, plus the delicious food and craft beers available as well.

Just remember, this event is for the 21 and over crowd (sorry kids!).

Location and Cost

If you’re planning on attending, I’d suggest that you get your tickets now because they are selling fast!

The Kinfolk Fest will take place at Waterfront Park in Downtown San Diego which is located at 1600 Pacific Highway San Diego, CA 92101. General admission tickets are on sale for $49.87.

VIP tickets, which include priority entry, VIP seating and restrooms, a welcome gift, VIP photobooth, VIP cash bar access and more, are selling for $103.22.

If you want a laidback way to celebrate Juneteenth, I think you’d like the smooth jazz at the Soul’d Out Saturday event set for El After Social Club. Mr. Hek will be on the decks, spinning your favorite R&B and Hip-Hop songs. This is a later event, on Saturday, June 21st, from 9:00pm until 2:00am, so it is 21 and over only.

Expect a high-energy night with plenty of dancing and positive vibes. You may want to think about upgrading your experience with a VIP table and bottle service!

Location and Cost

The El After Social Club is located in the Gaslamp Quarter at 815 Fifth Avenue San Diego, CA 92101.

While you’re in the area, check out the amazing restaurants and bars that call the Gaslamp Quarter home. Entry to Soul’d Out Saturday is free before 10:30pm and $13 after that.