Scotland’s Juneteenth Festival Freedom Day concert with Wyclef Jean and Tarrus Riley has relocated for a second time, a spokesman announced Tuesday.
Originally planned June 19 for the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Gaithersburg and shifted to the Howard County Fairgrounds, the show will now be held at the Anthem theater at the Wharf in Washington, D.C.
Concern that smoke from Canadian wildfires could return to the area prompted the move indoors, according to Paul Tukey, director of environmental stewardship at the Glenstone Museum and a spokesman for the event.
The first relocation was due to artist accommodation and alcohol permit approval and the time restraint to get approval from the City of Gaithersburg special permits, according to LaTisha Gasaway-Paul, president of the Juneteenth Scotland Foundation.
The Caribbean-themed acts include headliner Tarrus Riley with Dean Fraser & Blak Soil Band, three-time Grammy winner Wyclef Jean, Patrice Roberts, Ricardo Drue, Gyptian, DJ Ablaze, Destiny Sound and Ricky Platinum.
All other Scotland Juneteenth Heritage Festival events will be held in Montgomery County.
Juneteenth is the celebration of the end of slavery through the Emancipation Proclamation and is celebrated annually on June 19.
The festival kicks off Saturday with the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Club presentation of a Motown musical celebration of the Du-Drop Inn, a historic Black nightclub in Montgomery County; Juneteenth’s Got Talent music and dance performances at the Cabin John Village in Potomac from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and the children’s stage at the Cabin John Regional Park at Potomac from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
There will also be a film festival of films that depict the African American experience at the AFI Silver Theatre & Cultural Center, 8633 Colesville Road in Silver Spring, June 20 to 21.