A 150th sign is displayed for a group photo for attendees at an Arlington 150th birthday celebration Sept. 3 in downtown Arlington. There was music, food and activities for participants.
For Loretta Zhang, a family egg roll recipe holds generations of memories. Originating in Taiwan, the recipe was passed to her mother-in-law from her husband’s grandparents. Each new addition to the family learns the recipe, bringing its meaning to a new person.
With the recipe in her possession, the Arlington community programming librarian wanted to share it as it was shared with her.
What began as a Taiwanese family recipe will now end up in the Arlington 150th anniversary celebration cookbook alongside other recipes and memories submitted by Arlington residents.
The city’s official birthday was July 19, but the cookbook is part of a larger celebration for the city.
Jay Warren, the city’s director of communication and legislative affairs, said selecting one day out of the year to celebrate would not allow the community to fully participate in the festivities.
“We felt like the 150th is big enough and important enough of a milestone that this really should be a year-long, 12-month celebration,” Warren said.
He said that, in addition to celebrating for 12 months, another goal was to have the celebration reach all 99 square miles of the city.
“We’re much larger than we were when we were founded,” Warren said.
Attendees created a happy birthday Arlington chalk drawing on the pavement during an Arlington 150th birthday celebration Sept. 3 in downtown Arlington. The birthday was celebrated during the First Thursday event.
As part of the celebration, residents can share their favorite city memories on the Arlington 150 website. Warren said the government often speaks at people, but by sharing their thoughts and memories, residents can have a voice as well.
“This is an opportunity for the community to engage and kind of speak back and share and have a voice in sharing their love of Arlington,” Warren said.
He said one of his favorite memories of the city was attracting the National Medal of Honor Museum. Arlington went from not being considered as a location for the museum to being one of two finalists to ultimately being selected.
“We felt like we were the perfect fit,” Warren said. “We’re the American Dream City. Patriotism is in our blood.”
Another way residents can leave their mark on the 150th celebration is by submitting their recipes to the Arlington Public Library community cookbook.
Zhang said a previous community cookbook titled “Arlington Treasured Recipes” was made by the Daughters of the American Revolution for the city’s centennial. Now, 50 years later, residents can once again showcase the recipes that have marked their lives and been passed down through generations.
Zhang said the population and diversity of the city have grown over the past 50 years, and the new cookbook will reflect that.
“I thought it would be a really nice sort of time capsule to show how Arlington has changed over the times,” she said.
A yard sign is planted in the ground for an Arlington 150th birthday celebration Sept. 3 in downtown Arlington. The signs were placed all over downtown Arlington.
Zhang said residents can submit their recipes by filling out a paper form located in all seven Arlington Public Library locations. A digital form is available on the library and the Arlington 150 websites. The submission deadline is Oct. 31.
Zhang said residents may include stories or memories to go along with their recipes. She said it is a great way to see the roots from which families pass recipes down through generations.
“That part was important for me to include because a lot of food does carry memories, and I wanted to have that reflected in the cookbook,” she said.
Zhang also said food is a good way to introduce people to the diversity of cultures in the community and commemorate how much the city has grown in the last 150 years.
“Having a wide range of food to kind of show this is the cultural map of Arlington is a good way to commemorate it,” Zhang said.
Zhang said copies of the book will be available for checkout at library locations. Information on how to purchase a copy is still in the works.
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