Posted Friday, May 23, 2025 3:44 pm

The first annual Make Music Day Nassau, a wild and wonderful mix of free public music events, will make its debut on Saturday June 21. Make Music Day Nassau is part of Make Music Day, a global music celebration that takes place on the summer solstice each year and brings people of all ages and skill levels together to make music. This year, over 150 U.S. cities will host thousands of Make Music performances across the country as part of the world’s largest annual music event.

Make Music Day began in France in 1982 as the Fête de la Musique and has spread to over 2,000 cities across the globe. Completely different from a typical music festival, Make Music concerts are performed by anyone who wants to take part and are enjoyed by everyone who wants to attend. From classical to folk, hip hop to opera, Latin jazz to punk rock, singers and live music of all kinds will resound on streets, sidewalks, porches, plazas, parks, gardens, store fronts, and other public spaces on the longest day of the year.

Richard Restiano, Make Music Day Nassau event chair, shared, “Make Music Day Nassau is a great example of why Amelia Island-Nassau County is one of the state’s cultural capitals. Artistic talent can be found overflowing the streets in every neighborhood. With performances from individual amateurs to world-class ensembles, Make Music Day Nassau will give all our residents and visitors a chance to experience the city’s diverse musical riches in their own backyards.”

Highlights of Make Music Day Nassau will include free events at downtown Fernandina in various venues such as: Train Depot, the pocket park, Island Art Association, library, fountain at the courthouse, and the marina.

Any musician, amateur or professional, young or old, is invited to take part by signing up at www.makemusicday.org/nassaucounty; registration closes on June 19, 2025. Businesses, buildings, schools, churches, and other institutions can visit the website to offer their outdoor spaces as concert locations. A full schedule of events will be posted.

About Global Make Music Day

visit: https://makemusicday.org/

Make Music Day on Amelia Island, FL. June 21, 2025, is sponsored by:

Nassau Council for Arts and Culture, Inc., the Local Arts Agency for Nassau County. And co-sponsored by: Amelia Music Studio, Carrie Mays, Director.

Get ready for summer vacation! June on Long Island brings festivals for Juneteenth, Father’s Day, Pride Month, ripe strawberries, and some early fireworks.

This month, enjoy outdoor celebrations like the Long Island Pride Festival, the Strawberry Festival at Lenny Bruno Farms, and the Father’s Day Festival at Harbes Family Farm & Vineyard.

Read on for all the ways to pack your calendar this month on Long Island!

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THE BLUEPRINT: Qdoba to open five new Long Island restaurants and one in Brooklyn

New locations include Deer Park, Bethpage, Lake Grove, Lindenhurst & Riverhead

Several new restaurants will feature drive-thru service

Burger Brothers Group leads expansion

Long Island fans of Qdoba Mexican Eats will soon have more locations to chow down on bowls and burritos, as the chain’s area franchisees embark on a major expansion.

Port Washington-based Burger Brothers Restaurant Group, which owns the exclusive development rights for Qdoba in Nassau and Suffolk counties, is planning to open five additional Qdoba restaurants on Long Island, and another in Brooklyn, within the next year.

Burger Brothers, headed by prolific franchisees John and Jeff Froccaro and their longtime business partner Harry Braunstein, opened their first Long Island Qdoba location on Hempstead Turnpike in East Meadow in Feb. 2018, which marked a Long Island return of sorts for the chain that briefly had a location in the Broadway Mall in Hicksville about a decade earlier.

Since then, the franchisees have opened five more Long Island Qdobas in Plainview, Massapequa, Farmingdale, Bay Shore and Hauppauge.

The next new Qdoba location will be a 2,600-square-foot restaurant at 1826 Deer Park Ave. in Deer Park, which will be the first Qdoba with a drive-thru window and is expected to open before the end of the year.

The Froccaros are soon to begin construction on a 3,100-square-foot Qdoba restaurant at 3962 Hempstead Turnpike in Bethpage, the site of a former Boston Market. The new Bethpage location is expected to open in the first quarter of 2026.

Another soon-to-be constructed Qdoba at 141 Alexander Ave. in Lake Grove, is also expected to open in Q1 2026, taking the place of a shuttered iHop restaurant, which closed in 2022.

In Lindenhurst, a new 2,500-square-foot Qdoba restaurant is expected to open in the second quarter of next year. The new eatery at 136 Sunrise Highway, which will also have a drive-thru window, takes the place of a former Checkers.

A former Friendly’s restaurant at 949 Old Country Road in Riverhead, will become another new Qdoba with a drive-thru window. It will share a 5,000-square-foot building with another soon-to-be announced restaurant.

In August, the Froccaro’s will be opening a new 3,400-square-foot Qdoba restaurant at 57 Court St. in Brooklyn.

Besides Qdoba, the Burger Brothers franchise group owns and operates 31 Burger King restaurants located throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. Last month, the franchisees opened Long Island’s first Dave’s Hot Chicken restaurant in Carle Place and will eventually have a total of 14 Dave’s Hot Chicken locations—seven on Long Island and seven in Queens.

The Qdoba chain began in 1995 with a single restaurant in Denver called Zuma Fresh Mexican Grill. As the chain grew, the name was changed to Qdoba about four years later. Jack in the Box, which paid $45 million for the chain in 2003, sold Qdoba to a consortium of funds headed by Apollo Global Management in Dec. 2017 for $305 million. Qdoba now has more than 700 locations.

AI-assisted summary Juneteenth, commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S., is celebrated annually on June 19.

It became a federal holiday in 2021, but observance varies by state and local governments.

Celebrations range from community gatherings and festivals to concerts and educational events.

What is Juneteenth?

Juneteenth commemorates the so-called second U.S. independence day, June 19, 1865. That’s when when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger led Union soldiers into Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation that President Abraham Lincoln signed 2½ years earlier to free the country’s slaves.

Because of communication delays and incalcitrant slave owners ignoring the law, many Black people in Texas and a few other states still weren’t free when Granger arrived and even afterward.

June 19 came to be known as “Juneteenth” — a combination of “June” and “nineteenth” — and an annual day of celebration by the newly freed people in Texas. It is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.

Is Juneteenth an official holiday?

Yes and no. Juneteenth became a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, so federal agencies and courts, banks and the stock market will be closed. But it is not a state holiday in Florida, so state agencies will be open.

Local governments are a mixed bag, so check ahead. The city of Jacksonville and Clay, Nassau and St. Johns county governments observe the holiday, but Putnam County government does not. The 4th Judicial Circuit serving Clay, Duval and Nassau counties will be closed, while the 7th Judicial Circuit serving Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns and Volusia counties will be open.

How has Juneteenth been celebrated?

Initially, Juneteenth was celebrated informally in family and church gatherings, which for many former slaves and their families and descendants evolved into annual pilgrimages to Galveston, according to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

“The celebrations spread across the South and became more commercialized in the 1920s and 1930s, often centering on food festivals,” according to the museum.

Two Texans — the Rev. Ronald Myers Sr. and Opal Lee, whom many consider the “Grandmother of Juneteenth” — spent decades lobbying for Juneteenth to be a federal holiday. President Joe Biden and Congress fulfilling their mission in 2021 “sparked an outpouring of joy and unity across this country. From coast to coast, Americans of all backgrounds enjoyed parties, attended soulful concerts and shared communal feasts in a triumphant reminder of the rich tapestry of African American culture we celebrate today,” according to the museum.

How will Juneteenth 2025 be celebrated in Jacksonville?

Here is a roundup of Juneteenth-related events:

Juneteenth Celebration 365

3 p.m. Saturday, June 14, on A. Philip Randolph Boulevard. Free.

About 200 Black-owned businesses are scheduled to be on hand for a Juneteenth celebration on a street named for a pioneering civil rights activist. Info: melanincollaborativegroup.org

JWJ BDay 5K and Block Party

5:30 p.m. Saturday, June 14, at J. Weldon Johnson Park. Free.

Juneteenth Concert

1 p.m. Wednesday, June 18, at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens. $25.

Jacksonville’s Ritz Chamber Players perform “Juneteenth: Voices of Freedom.” Info: cummermuseum.org

Phatt Katz Juneteenth Celebration

7 p.m. Friday, June 20, at Breezy Jazz House. $25-$35.

Comedian Spunky Robinson headlines, 904Nika is the feature comic, Ozrick Cooley hosts and DJ Ray Groove City provides the tunes. Info: phattkatz.com

Ritz Chamber Players

7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 21, at Terry Concert Hall. Free.

The Players finish their season with “Juneteenth: Voices of Freedom.” Info: ritzchamberplayers.org

Excelsior High School Centennial Celebration

June 19-21 at the Lincolnville Museum & Culture Center, St. Augustine. Free-$125.

Excelsior High, which opened in 1925, was the first public high school for Black students in St. Johns County and operated until the 1960s. Today, the Lincolnville Museum occupies the site, and is celebrating the school’s centennial with a new exhibit, a Harlem Nights Gala, a reunion prom and field day. Info: lincolnvillemuseum.org

Will the U.S. Postal Service deliver mail on Juneteenth?

Post offices will be closed, so don’t expect regular mail delivery. But Priority Mail Express service will still be available on that day, as it is 365 days a year.

Will UPS and FedEx deliver packages on Juneteenth?

UPS and FedEx stores will be open and all services available.

Will garbage be collected on Juneteenth?

Yes, in Jacksonville and Clay, Putnam, Nassau and St. Johns counties.

What is open, closed on Juneteenth?

Most major retail store chains, including Publix, Target and Walmart, will remain open on the holiday. Most restaurants and food chains will be open as well, including McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Chick-fil-A and Burger King.

bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109

Politics & Government Nassau Democrats Try Again To Make Juneteenth An Official County Holiday “If Nassau County claims to recognize Juneteenth, then why does everything stay open like it’s just another Thursday? said Leg. Olena Nicks.

Nassau Democrats have put forth a bill to recognize Juneteenth as a county holiday. (Shutterstock)

MINEOLA, NY — While Thursday is Juneteenth, a federal holiday to commemorate the end of slavery in the U.S. after the Civil War, a group of lawmakers now want it recognized in Nassau County.

Legislator Olena Nicks, along with other member of legislature’s Minority Caucus, introduced legislation on Wednesday to officially make Juneteenth a county holiday . It was established as a federal holiday in 2021, marking the anniversary of June 19, 1865, the day Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas and enforced the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the last enslaved Americans.

Since then, every U.S. state and every town and city in Nassau County, has recognized Juneteenth, except for the county, a spokesperson for the caucus said. “If Nassau County claims to recognize Juneteenth, then why does everything stay open like it’s just another Thursday?” Nicks said. “Recognition without observance is just performance. You can’t say you honor a holiday and then ignore it when the calendar date arrives.”