MARSHALL — It will be exciting to be back in Marshall this week for the city’s Juneteenth celebration, Kimberly Brown said.

“It’s a celebration for all people. It’s part of everyone’s history,” Brown said.

Brown, a singer, songwriter and former member of the 3-time Grammy Award-winning group Sounds of Blackness, will be the featured performer at Marshall’s community Juneteenth celebration this Thursday.

Brown sang at Marshall’s Juneteenth celebration last year. It will be great to be back, Brown said this week.

“Last year was wonderful. What makes any event is the people, and they were excited,” Brown said. She said she enjoys the interaction that she’s able to have with the audience in venues like the community festival.

This year, Brown said will be bringing a bigger band to Marshall, with a drummer, two keyboardists and a singer. She said she’s also planning some surprises for youngsters in the audience that will give kids a chance to engage with the band.

“We want to have some fun, and also to learn,” she said.

Brown said there were unique aspects to Juneteenth that she hopes to share with Marshall area residents. The city celebrations are a cultural and historical event as well as a public celebration. She said she planned to perform songs that would help connect with the message of the day.

“For me, it’s about the lyrics, and the message,” Brown said. “And that is a message of love, and a message of unity.”

A variety of Juneteenth events are planned in Marshall on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday at noon, a poetry reading and discussion with poet Cassie J. Williams will be held at the Marshall-Lyon County Library. Williams is a Minnesota writer and educator, and an alumna of Southwest Minnesota State University.

On Thursday, the MLCL will also be open for a special Juneteenth story time event at 10:30 a.m. The Juneteenth Food Truck Festival will be from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Third Street downtown. Marshall’s main Juneteenth celebration will be from 4-7 p.m. at Justice Park.

The celebrations at Justice Park will feature a musical performance by Brown, starting at 5:30 p.m. The public can also enjoy food and kids’ inflatables, and take part in a community art project.

Brown said states in the southern U.S. have had large celebrations for Juneteenth, which remembers the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation. It’s exciting that the holiday is being more widely celebrated across the country, she said.

“The event is getting the recognition it has always deserved,” Brown said. Juneteenth is also a holiday that can reach across cultures, she said. “We’re all in this journey of life together. We’re walking together.”

More information on Brown’s music and nonprofit work can be found at www.kimberlybrownmusic.com, at the Kimberly Brown Music page on Facebook, and at www.kimberlybrownnetwork.com.