Meet the Miracle behind Bellingham’s Juneteenth celebration, set for Saturday
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Miracle Jones organized Bellingham's largest Juneteenth event after moving from LA.
- The inclusive celebration features vendors, performers, food trucks and music.
- Annual support and sponsorships for the event continue to grow into 2025.
Bellingham’s third annual Official Juneteenth Celebration is set for this week, and behind the special event is a local entrepreneur, mother of three, and member of the community with a desire to “not play the victim.”
Miracle Jones owns Miraculous Braidz & Beauty in downtown Bellingham and Miraculous Events. She created Bellingham’s largest Juneteenth celebration in 2023 after relocating from Los Angeles and living in Whatcom County for a few years, noticing a lack of Juneteenth awareness in Bellingham.
“I just felt like there wasn’t a space for just that specific black art and black talent,” Jones told The Herald. “It’s the main goal of it all. I just wanted to showcase some stuff and have some fun and do the little dances that we all grew up on and teach it to the community.”
Jones said the event continues to grow each year.
“Everybody’s out there dancing together and doing all our cultural stuff. So I’m just creating a space for that. I hadn’t seen just a bunch of Black art just laid out and stuff, you know. So I was real nervous when I started. I’m not even from here, so I didn’t know who I could gather, how I could make it happen. So I just think a space for Black art was really needed,” Jones said.
In creating the event, Jones said her aim was to provide a space for everyone in the community and welcomes artists, vendors and performers of all backgrounds.
“You can hit me up the day of the event, and there’s space for you,” she said. “Come on, be a part of it. We have a lot of white vendors as well. We still got vendor space, if you feel like your art or whatever you sell will sell there. Some people are just scared that, like, maybe Juneteenth isn’t the crowd for their type of work to sell. And then you have, like, a lot of non-black vendors that make Juneteenth stuff, too, and it just depends on if you got the stuff you feel comfortable with. But the door is open for all vendors, all community stuff.”
The event will kick off with a live performance by a gospel choir near Bellingham’s Calvary Worship Center. The group will be introduced by Andrew Johnson with The Speaking Feather, a Lummi Nation music group, which will honor the native land.
“So I think that’s just beautiful and amazing, because it’s just community in every way,” Jones said. “And like, Juneteenth itself, for me is not just so much focusing on just Black, but just like, community all in one, right? Because that was the day that initially slavery ended in Texas, and it was just like, that was the day that everybody came together. So it’s just community, ultimately.”
Jones wants the event to be a celebration for the entire community, but she uses the events and her businesses to fight against division in the world, and local warnings she received when moving here.
“All this politics stuff is kind of divisive right now,” she said. “So I just want to show people that, this was a day that, after all the troubles that we’ve went through for so many years, we’re free and we have all the same opportunities. And people try to tell me, though still today, that we still have less opportunities than other people, I don’t know, and maybe that’s their experience. So I try not to, you know, judge it, but from my experience, we have the same opportunities as everybody else.”
“We can showcase our businesses because we have the opportunity to do so — this is just living proof. And then people were like, ‘Bellingham doesn’t support Black.’ I just don’t get all that stuff,” Jones said. “That’s what I heard. ‘They make it hard for you to have a business.’ I don’t see that. Do you got your your money? Do you got, you know, do you got your paperwork? You got your LLC? Because I feel like, as long as you have your (expletive) in order, you got the same opportunities as everybody else,” Jones said.
Jones dismissed the warnings she received about Bellingham, and she continues to put on community events, host events in private homes, and set up a face-painting booth at the Northwest Washington Fair each year.
“And when I came out here, coming from L.A., people try to tell you, ‘It’s gonna be hard for you out here,’ and put this whole stigma of Bellingham up and it’s not that. It wasn’t that for me at all. You hear this stuff about Lynden. I got all the warnings about Lynden, and I face paint at the Lynden fair every year. I’ve done four years there. And they’re like, ‘It’s not gonna work for you out there in Lynden,’ and it’s so amazing. I get so much love. And just everything that people try to say about this town is not that,” Jones said.
“And this is just proof. All the parties that I do, I don’t think I’ve ever done, like, a Black face-paint party. All the parties I do are at white houses. So, people said, ‘They won’t even let you touch a white kid’s face.’ That hurt my heart. And that was my first year at the fair, and there’s two face painters at the fair, and the other one has been there like, 20 years, and so I just was like, ‘Yeah, I’m not gonna survive.’ And then, it’s just so beautiful. I get love everywhere. And just never, never go off what people say, just experience the love and stuff on your own, you know. And like, I’ve got nothing but love out here in Bellingham, just like so much support,” Jones said.
“I hate the whole pity-me thing they do out here. Like, no, not me. I get love. So it’s love out here in Bellingham and Juneteenth just really showcases that.”
As the event grows annually, so does the support for Jones’ vision, as Jones secured multiple sponsorships for this year’s event.
“The first year, I had no idea about anything, so I just posted the event, made a flyer, and threw it in the city,” Jones said. “The city of Bellingham Parks and Recreation helped walk me through the whole process, which I just thought I was just having an event, and they’re like, ‘No, it’s paperwork, it’s insurance, it’s this and that.’”
“I’ve never had sponsors. When I do the event, I just thought it was just make a post and come on out, right? I did not know about sponsors. I didn’t know how to get them. Last year, I would say, was the first year I even thought about sponsors, but just didn’t know how to go about it,” Jones said.
This year’s the event is sponsored by Mayor Lund, Habitat for Humanity, Opportunity Council and the Food Co-Op.
The event will run from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 21 at Maritime Heritage Park and will feature a live DJ, vendors, artists, food trucks, face painting, guest speakers and performances.
“This annual event is a vibrant mix of local vendors, food, live entertainment, games, and more,” the event’s website states. “In 2025, we’re adding a parade to highlight Black-owned businesses and expand the community involvement. It’s a day to honor history, uplift local entrepreneurs, and enjoy family-friendly fun in a welcoming atmosphere. We invite you to join us in celebrating unity and heritage as we come together for a day full of culture, creativity, and community pride.”
“Bring chairs, blankets, and it’s just super comfy chill vibes. Expect to dance, shop around and just, enjoy the scene,” Jones said.
This story was originally published June 17, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
