Here are the ceremonies and celebrations for Juneteenth across Southern California

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Numerous events are set to be held around Southern California Thursday to mark Juneteenth, the federal holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.

One of the biggest local events will take place in Leimert Park. The annual event honors the legacy of freedom and will feature cultural programming, including a woman's drum circle, performances by a jazz band, line dancing, DJ sets and so much more.

There will also be events in Pacoima, Altadena, Palmdale, Manhattan Beach, Santa Monica and multiple other locations around Los Angeles and Orange counties.

The annual "Opal's Walk for Freedom" in Pacoima will begin at 6 a.m., and the walk will start at 7 a.m. at Hillery T. Broadous Elementary School. It will conclude at Pacoima City Hall.

The walk coincides with a similar event in Fort Worth, Texas, in which the event's namesake, Opal Lee, is set to participate.

Lee, now 98, campaigned for decades to make Juneteenth a federal holiday -- a quest that came to fruition on June 17, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, with Lee in attendance for the signing ceremony in the East Room of the White House.

Lee is known as the "Grandmother of Juneteenth" for the walking campaign she began when she was 89 to get the day declared a national holiday.

Juneteenth marks the anniversary of Union Army Gen. Gordon Granger reading General Order No. 3 in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865. It began, "The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free."

That was over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.

U.S. post offices will be closed and mail will not be delivered Thursday. All federal offices, schools and banks will be closed.

Here's a full list of what will be open and closed for the holiday.

In other Juneteenth events across Southern California:

- The Altadena Historical Society's fourth annual Juneteenth celebration luncheon will feature a preview of the Altadena oral history project titled, "Faces of Resilience: The African American Cultural Legacy Before & After the Eaton Canyon Fire."

The luncheon will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Loma Alta Park. Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door and can be purchased on the society's website.

- A Juneteenth celebration including live music, a classic car show, food vendors and various family-friendly activities will be held at Poncitlán Square in Palmdale from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

- Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell and Mayor Amy Thomas Howorth will speak at Manhattan Beach's Juneteenth ceremony at Bruce's Beach Park from 10 to 11 a.m.

- A Juneteenth Celebration and Concert will be held Sunday at Polliwog Park in Manhattan Beach from 2 to 7 p.m.

- In honor of Juneteenth, admission at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and La Brea Tar Pits from 3-5 p.m.

- The Ferris wheel at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier will be illuminated in red, white and blue patterns representing the Juneteenth flag, along with green, red and gold animations inspired by the Pan-African flag. The lights will go on at sunset, approximately 8:08 p.m., and run through 12:30 a.m. The display can also be viewed online at pacpark.com/live.

- In Irvine, the Pretend City Children's Museum will celebrate Juneteenth with kids events starting at 10 a.m.

City News Service contributed to this report.