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Emancipation Day celebration brings music, food, fireworks to DC

President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill ending slavery in D.C. 162 years ago.

His signature freed some 3,100 people in the District.

And while it’s technically celebrated on April 16, D.C. is doing it a little earlier this year: Sunday.

is taking place Sunday, with a full day of events scheduled at Freedom Plaza.

The parade started at 2 p.m. on Pennsylvania Avenue between 10th and 14th streets in Northwest and ended at Freedom Plaza, located at 1455 Pennsylvania Ave.

There’s a concert headlined by Ginuwine and Kelly Price at 3 p.m. and because it’s D.C., there’s lots of go-go music.

A fireworks show starts at 8:30 p.m. to put the exclamation point on the celebration.

Radio personalities from WKYS, WHUR and WPGC will serve as hosts of the event.

, along with interactive activities and food trucks. There are also a host of local eateries having promotions for the day. Check them out .

²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ has all the info you need on the road closures.

²ÝÝ®´«Ã½’s Thomas Robertson contributed to this report.

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Will Vitka

William Vitka is a Digital Writer/Editor for ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½.com. He's been in the news industry for over a decade. Before joining ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½, he worked for CBS ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½, Stuff Magazine, The New York Post and wrote a variety of books—about a dozen of them, with more to come.

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