COLORADO SPRINGS — Organizers of the Southern Colorado Juneteenth Festival are hoping the event's relocation to The Citadel can help improve the mall's reputation.
The three-day festival is relocating this year from its previous home at America the Beautiful Park in downtown Colorado Springs to a parking lot outside the mall on the east side of the city. Dee Smith, executive director of OneBody ENT and organizer of the Juneteenth festival, said The Citadel needs more family-friendly events to change the narrative surrounding the mall.
"If we're saying that The Citadel has a bad reputation, how are we going to fix that problem? By going in, having events, and bringing people to The Citadel, creating a safe environment for people to come enjoy themselves," said Smith.
Over the years, The Citadel has garnered a reputation as a crime hotspot. Since 2016, at least three people have died and more than 20 people have been injured in shootings on the mall's property.
Colorado Springs city leaders met with mall management and provided updates on safety improvements planned for the area in Aug. 2024. Those improvements included better lighting in parking lots, more security cameras, and barriers to block off parking lots after business hours.
Colorado Springs City Councilmember Nancy Henjum was part of the push to make safety changes at the mall. She said she is happy about the Juneteenth Festival relocation and believes it could inspire other organizations to host their events at the mall, too.
"We want all of the spaces in our city to be vibrant and safe, so the more we can activate them all, the better it will be for everybody," said Councilmember Henjum.
Smith said cost was a factor in the decision to move the festival to the mall parking lot. He said last year the city allocated $150,000 in grant money to the nonprofit from the city's Lodgers and Automobile Rental Tax (LART). This year, that funding was cut in half to $75,000. The festival was one of several events that saw a loss in funding this year after the city council said it was re-prioritizing the funding and focusing on events that brought tourists to the city.
Smith said last year's Juneteenth Festival cost around $254,000, and organizers also relied on funding from sponsors.
Smith said relocating to The Citadel made complete sense because it will save them thousands of dollars and provide an opportunity to bring a family-friendly event to the mall.
"I don't want nobody to come to the Juneteenth Festival that don't want to be there. So if you don't feel safe there, I understand it. It's up to us to, like I said, change that narrative."
The festival is happening from June 20 to June 22 in the parking lot outside JCPenney facing Babies "R" Us. Smith said the event will feature vendors and performers like normal.
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