Owen Sound's 153rd Emancipation Festival celebrates the city's black heritage.
The festival and picnic is said to be the longest running annual event in North America. It commemorates the Emancipation Act of August 1,1834 that made slavery illegal in the British Commonwealth. Owen Sound and area residents have been celebrating this occasion since 1862.
Festival organizer Blaine Courtney says it's a significant event for everyone in the city.
"Owen Sound has the unique connection of being the northern terminus of the Underground Railroad and it's just something that the whole community almost since day one has embraced," says Courtney.
The Emancipation Festival opens this evening at Grey Roots Museum near Owen Sound.
It coincides with the museum's opening of an exhibit of photographs taken 50 years ago of the historic Selma to Montgomery march led by Dr. Martin Luther King.
Saturday is the annual picnic in Harrison Park in Owen Sound with music food and all kinds of activities.