FORT WORTH, Texas — Rain or shine, the show still went on. North Texans hit the wet streets for Juneteenth early Friday.

June 19, 2026, marks 161 years since slaves in Galveston learned they were free, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

There were celebrations happening across the state and country Friday and into the weekend.

All morning and afternoon long, people came out to the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth for the festivities.

The weather did delay the start of the march by about an hour or so. But the crowds of people who came did not let the rain, thunder and lightning keep them from coming out to celebrate freedom.

The biggest headline from the day was the fact that the star of the show, Opal Lee, the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” didn’t come.

Spectrum News got to speak with her ahead of the big day about how she’s doing and her health.

“I’m going live. That’s that’s what I had to tell everybody. I’ll be here a little while. Yeah. This is nearly a 100. And just a few more days. You. So. Hey, I plan to do whatever I can as long as I can,” said Lee.

This is the second year in a row that Lee was not able to physically attend the walk that she championed so many years ago. But she did share a message for her supporters, volunteers and people who came out in the rain.

“This walk may be finished, but the work is not done,” said Lee in the message.

Another person who wasn’t at the walk in Fort Worth was Dione Sims, Lee’s granddaughter.

“Well, I was supposed to be in D.C., but we got word that, the President Obama is opening the Obama Center in, Chicago on the 19th of June. And so, I moved my walk from D.C. to Evanston, so we could be closer. And we’ve got an invitation to be at the opening of the Obama Center on the 19th. So, we will walk, then come to the Obama Center and tour the facility and take in that rich history of the freedom that Juneteenth represents,” said Sims.

Sims led the walk in Illinois while her daughter, Opal’s great-granddaughter, led the walk in Fort Worth. Sims’ son led the walk in D.C. So, it was a family affair with legacy being represented.

There were seven branded “Opal’s Walk for Freedom” that happened across the country. They were in Hawaii, Oregon, Los Angeles, Ohio, Illinois, Washington, D.C. and Fort Worth.

James Talarico, the Democrat who’s running to be the next U.S. senator for Texas against Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, was also in attendance.

This year is a big one for Lee. Not only does she turn 100 in October, but America turns 250 next month, and this week marks five years since Juneteenth became a federal holiday.

But that’s not all.

Earlier this year, Mattel created a Barbie in honor of Lee, another company made a graphic novel and, lastly, there’s a memoir out about this Texas treasure as she celebrates 100 years this year.

Sims said planning for Lee’s 100th birthday is set to coincide with the groundbreaking of the National Juneteenth Museum in Fort Worth.