JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Are you ready to party like it's 1822?
Get ready for Jacksonville's bicentennial celebration this summer.
The celebration will be an all-day event on Saturday, June 11, and there will be events on the days leading up to it, as well.
James Weldon Johnson Park will be a main location for festivities. There will be fireworks, music, exhibits, and food trucks. And what's a good bicentennial bash without burying a time capsule? At an event June 10th you'll get the chance to do that.
"There will be a proclamation ceremony in James Weldon Johnson Park," said Alan Bliss, CEO Jacksonville Historical Society. "The Jacksonville' Children's Chorus will perform Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing, a great anthem for this moment."
They are 'calling all food truck vendors' and others to get involved. There's a signup sheet on Jacksonville's bicentennial website, which you can access here.
"This day would be filled with celebration, recognition, and promise for the future," Mayor Lenny Curry said in an event about the Bicentennial Thursday. "This milestone birthday I encourage everyone to look around and admire where we are today."
In 1821, Florida became a U.S. territory. The following next year Cowford was renamed "Jacksonville" even though apparently Andrew Jackson had never been here; however, he was the territory's first provisional governor, as stated on Visit Jacksonville's website where you can learn more.
"We measure the foundational moment of the city from June 15, 1822," Bliss said.
If you can't wait to do all this, there are several Jacksonville Historical Society events next week you can attend to get you in the bicentennial celebration mood. On Wednesday, join the event 'Indigenous Jacksonville: 10,000+ Years of History" online. On Thursday, Jacksonville Historical Society's Speaker Series program turns into a concert. The topic will be the history of the guitar in 20th Century Jacksonville