Juneteenth at the Historic Magnolia House
Peacemaker Reports / June 18, 2021The Historic Magnolia House is excited to announce that it will be opening for self-guided tours and shoebox meals to celebrate Juneteenth. On Wednesdays-Saturdays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. from June 16th-30th Magnolia House staff will invite visitors to view its Juneteenth exhibit focused on redlining and a Green Book era traveler’s toolkit.
Additionally, the Magnolia House will present a new Virtual Reality experience created in conjunction with UNCG’s Department of Interior Architecture for Creative Greensboro’s Catalyzing Creativity grant. As visitors experience the virtual reality project, they will be taken back in time to see what the interiors of the Magnolia House may have looked like in the 1950s. All tours and shoebox meals can be booked via Schedulicity (schedulicity.com); Magnolia House staff highly recommends booking VR tours ahead of time. VR tours will cost $11 per person.
In addition to self-guided tours, visitors are also invited to participate in Magnolia’s shoebox lunch educational program. During Jim Crow, Black travelers frequently carried shoe box lunches as a means of staying safe when a Green Book site was not readily available. These lunches, packed in shoe boxes and filled with less perishable foods, were a key symbol of the period.
During June on Fridays and Saturdays, the Historic Magnolia House will offer shoe box inspired meals for outdoor dining and takeout so that guests can safely celebrate Juneteenth. These meals will come housed in Magnolia’s Juneteenth-themed shoeboxes, filled with information about the history of Juneteenth and traditional Juneteenth meals. The Shoeboxes will come filled with items from the Magnolia House’s special Juneteenth menu.
All proceeds will go towards the Magnolia House Foundation to save Greensboro’s Historic Green Book site. Please contact Melissa Knapp for additional information around Juneteenth programming and donations towards the foundation: Melissa Knapp, Email: info@magnoliahousegso.org or phone (336) 617-3382.
