Photos: Juneteenth Music Festival site still trashed a day later, organizer apologizes

Our Juneteenth Music Festival slide show depicts the fun and frolic associated with this venerable Denver event, which took place on Saturday. But afterward, there were a lot fewer smiles, and a lot more crinkled noses, because the streets where the fest took place were still piled with trash until...

By Michael Roberts

June 17, 2013

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Our Juneteenth Music Festival slide show depicts the fun and frolic associated with this venerable Denver event, which took place on Saturday. But afterward, there were a lot fewer smiles, and a lot more crinkled noses, because the streets where the fest took place were still piled with trash until yesterday evening -- much like the mess left by the High Times Cannabis Cup on Earth Day.

The Juneteenth organizer has apologized for the now-resolved situation. See photos and a video below.

The day after the festival, a visitor to the Juneteenth Facebook page wrote, "As of 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, trash is everywhere up and down Welton. What a joke."

Accompanying this post were several photos, including this one....

...and this one.... ...and this one: Additionally, 9News heard from neighbors upset by the rubbish -- and one or more of them supplied photos as well. Here's one shot from the station's coverage.... ...and another.... ...and another: How did organizer Norman Harris respond? Continue for more about the trash left behind by the Juneteenth Music Festival, including additional photos and a video. Harris told 9News that he'd contracted with a crew tasked with cleaning up after the festival, but the workers had flaked on him.

As a result, he and several helpers spent a considerable chunk of yesterday cleaning up what should have been cleaned earlier. He also apologized for the mess to station viewers and the entire Five Points neighborhood, where Juneteenth is a summertime staple.

Afterward, a couple of considerably tidier-looking shots were shared on the Juneteenth Facebook page. Here's one....

...and here's a second: The caption on the pics reads, "26th and Welton at 6:00 p.m. today. We picked up the mess...just a little late."

The responses to the trashy oversights at the Cannabis Cup and Juneteenth should serve as a reminder to people putting on future bashes. To whit: There's no quicker way to sour people on events than to leave the areas where they took place looking like garbage dumps the day after.

Here's the aforementioned 9News report:

More from our News archive: "Photos: High Times Cannabis Cup site left trashed for Earth Day."

Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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