RALEIGH — North Carolina’s Semiquincentennial Committee heard updates on statewide events to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary during an April 8 meeting.
The committee, co-chaired by Rep. John Blackwell (R-Burke) and Sen. Phil Alexander (R-Cleveland), received a presentation from North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Trey Allen on the 1776 North Carolina Constitution, which established the state’s first framework of self-government after independence.
Allen stressed that the 1776 Constitution placed popular sovereignty front and center.
“All the political power that was exercised by the first governor under the 1776 constitution and all the government officials under that constitution, as is the case today, is power that is delegated by the people,” Allen told the committee.
Allen also highlighted the landmark 1787 Bayard v. Singleton case, decided 16 years before the U.S. Supreme Court’s Marbury v. Madison, that created the principle of judicial review in North Carolina.
The committee also noted a full reprint of the 1776 North Carolina Constitution will be available later this month.
The bulk of the meeting focused on celebration programming items, including concerts, parades, traveling exhibits and the time-limited return of the original Halifax Resolves.
N.C. Commissioner of Labor Luke Farley, speaking on behalf of the Celebrate America Foundation, confirmed that a major patriotic parade will take place in downtown Raleigh on July 4 at 9:30 a.m.
“The General Assembly got fully behind having a patriotic parade in celebration of America,” Farley said. “And I am so grateful to the General Assembly for making that happen. It would not be happening without them. Period. Full stop.”
The parade route is expected to begin near the Legislative Building, proceed down Salisbury Street past the Capitol and continue along Fayetteville Street. Organizers are working to invite Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch, an Onslow County native, to serve as grand marshal.
The evening before the parade, a free public concert will be held at the High Point Theater at 7:30 p.m. Former theater director David Briggs and North Carolina Brass Band director Brian Meixner said the program will feature the North Carolina Brass Band, the North Carolina Baptist Choir, and IBMA award-winning bluegrass artists Darren and Brooke Aldridge.
The concert will include patriotic standards such as “Stars and Stripes Forever,” an Armed Forces medley, an audience sing-along of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and North Carolina-themed pieces including “Old North State” and “North Carolina Is My Home.”
Anne Evangelista with the state Department of Cultural and Natural Resources (NCDCNR) highlighted the return of the original Halifax Resolves, which are on display in Halifax through Oct. 6.
Evangelista said NCDCNR is “very excited for July 4th” and has been working with the American Legion, military partners, the Raleigh Concert Band and Raleigh Historic Sites.
She was also excited for the “Witnesses to the Revolution” exhibit to open June 12 at UNC Chapel Hill’s Wilson Library.
Additionally, Evangelista updated the committee on the Capitol 250 Freedom Fest, which will follow the Raleigh parade on July 4.
“We’ve got living historians, musical performers, food vendors, food trucks, exhibitors — all sorts of things are going to be on the Capitol grounds for our Capitol 250 North Carolina Freedom Fest happening on the same day on July 4th,” said Evangelista.
Other updates shared at the meeting include:
- Over Mountain Victory Trail — The trail is being readied, with the N.C. Land & Water Fund paying to clear a Helene-damaged section in McDowell County.
- Race to the Dan — A two-day historical program in Forsyth County taking place Aug. 7-8 featuring speakers from West Point and the Virginia Military Institute.
- Freedom 250 Truck — One of the six traveling interactive museum exhibits visited Raleigh last month; committee members are working to bring another truck back to the state.
- N.C. Brigade Mannequin Project — All mannequins are complete and scheduled for display on the Capitol grounds July 4.
- Charlotte Augmented Reality Exhibit — A 9,000-square-foot American Revolution exhibit featuring Kings Mountain artifacts opened Sunday at the Discovery Place Science museum.
In an America 250 newsletter, NCDCNR also announced the North Carolina Symphony is asking for art submissions for its video collaboration commemorating the anniversary, titled “One State, One Score: America the Beautiful.”
Participation includes selecting a score that “matches to their instrument and experience level, learn it, record a video,” which is then uploaded to the symphony’s website. Submissions need to be made by April 30. More information can be found at tinyurl.com/NSJ-250symphony.
America 250 exhibits and celebration events in North Carolina can be found at america250.nc.gov.
