After the Fourth of July, the countdown to America’s 250th birthday is now on, with a wide variety of local, state and national commemorations and community activities already in play, and in the works. With Lexington and Rockbridge established in 1778, during the Revolutionary War itself, three years of programming lay ahead, ready for new ideas to help celebrate our own “semiquincentennial” hallmark.
On Friday, July 11, area residents can get in on the action, and join community planning efforts with Rockbridge-VA250, at the local chamber of commerce’s First Friday Summer Speaker Series. The kick-off event will be held at the Hampton Inn Col Alto, 8-10 a.m., with breakfast served. Register in advance at tinyurl.com/RockbridgeVA250-Chamber.
Rockbridge-VA250 Regional Co-Chairs Eric Wilson with Rockbridge Historical Society and Sheryl Wagner with Lexington & Rockbridge Area Tourism will provide an overview of how local initiatives and events can be collaboratively designed by local organizations and institutions. They’ll highlight digital resources that support regional and state partnerships, promotions, and grant opportunities provided by Virginia’s bipartisan state commission, “VA250: American Revolutions.” One of Rockbridge’s own representatives to the General Assembly, 37th District Del. Terry Austin, was appointed as chair of that commission by Governor Northam and hopes to attend.
The event will conclude with break-out groups to facilitate community conversation in the five cultural arenas the advisory committee has targeted: entertainment and recreation; education, museums and libraries; business and nonprofits; media and communications; and military and heritage groups.
To learn more about upcoming events, and read the committee’s recommendations for “How You Can Get Involved,” see VA250.org/rockbridge.
