The United States’ semiquincentennial — or 250th birthday — is still a year-and-a-half away, but organizers in Alabama are planning events that will begin in April and culminate on July 4, 2026.
“This is going to be a year-long celebration,” said Natalie Steed, the executive officer of the Alabama USA Semiquincentennial Commission. “We hope that the celebration will be something everyone in Alabama has an opportunity to participate in.”
Many events are planned at the American Village in Montevallo, but organizers also want communities and schools to participate.
“American Village has the best Independence Day program,” Steed said. “And it’s going to be even better in 2026, we’re going to do amazing things. But we know everybody in the state can’t come. So we want to make sure that these local communities also have resources to celebrate on that day and maybe follow a similar itinerary and have some of the same speeches and create some sense of unity throughout the state.”
In spending bills in the upcoming legislative session, Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, said there is about $3.4 million requested for the Alabama USA Semiquincentennial Commission, including about $1 million for school programs and $1 million for community grants.
Orr was involved in the planning of the state’s bicentennial celebrations in 2019 and sponsored in 2021 a resolution creating a semiquincentennial commission to plan and promote activities for the nation’s 250th birthday.
“We’ve been working with (Gov. Kay Ivey) to get sufficient funds to push out some grant funding for the smaller towns and counties across the state for celebration purposes, to help them and support them,” Orr told ADN.
More information
The celebration events and educational resources can be found at america250al.org Information and events will be added to the site, including how local communities can get involved and share their plans.
“We have an interactive map so that communities can input their local events so any visitor to the site can click on their county and see what kind of events are close to them,” Steed said.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Mary Sell and originally published by Alabama Daily News. It is reprinted with permission.
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