America250PA ignites Pennsylvania pride with state-wide events celebrating America’s 250th anniversary.
SCRANTON, Pa. — The countdown to America’s 250th birthday is underway, and to kick off the celebration, America250PA is hosting events across all 67 counties in the state. Two of those events are in Monroe and Lackawanna County on Sunday.
“To see people come out, especially on these cold, snowy days, really showing how important this anniversary is, but also their dedication to ensuring that their counties and their communities are involved in this historic anniversary, is really amazing,” says America250PA Executive Director Cassandra Coleman.
Dozens of people came out to the courthouse square in Scranton to properly celebrate the semiquincentennial anniversary.
“250 years! I remember the bicentennial and how excited I was for that in 1976; it’s wonderful. So we have to be very proud to be from Pennsylvania, where it all began,” says Jill Reeves from Clarks Summit.
That Pennsylvania pride was also present inside the Monroe County Courthouse in Stroudsburg.
“The Declaration of Independence, magnificent document, was written in Pennsylvania, and Monroe County is one of the more important counties in the entire state, so we’re thrilled about the semiquincentennial celebration,” says Monroe County Republican Party Chairman Pete Begley.
The events are also a chance for younger artists to show their pride through artwork commemorating all of the different parts of the state.
“Kinda nervous, I never like to do something like this, I like to paint but I never see a lot of people will like it. There’s people like ‘oh its fabulous.’ For me, it’s something really normal and some people liking it makes me feel very happy,” says Artist Jowell Mauras Bidot.
These two events are just a drop in the bucket. America250 PA has a number of celebrations planned across our area in the months leading up to July 4th.