presents
’The Great Anniversary Festival’: A July 2nd Independence Celebration
John Adams predicted, “The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival.” Of course, Adams was off by two days regarding the date Americans associate with independence. But for the semiquincentennial of the United States, you are invited to honor the 250th anniversary of our nation’s birth on July 2nd, when a vote on the Declaration of Independence officially passed the Continental Congress.
Join Seminary Ridge Museum, Gettysburg Foundation, Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg Film Commission, and more community partners for a memorable evening on Gettysburg’s historic Lutheran Seminary campus.
The commemoration includes readings of the Declaration of Independence and Gettysburg Address, a panel discussion focused on the history and legacy of the occasion, and an outdoor screening of the episode “Independence” from the award-winning HBO miniseries John Adams. This unique celebration honors the man whose name inspired Adams County, the nation that Adams and his fellow founders helped create, and the lasting meaning of the Declaration of Independence throughout the past 250 years in Gettysburg and beyond.
Schedule of Events
6:30pm-7:00pm - Opening Remarks (by Judy Morley, Ph.D., SRMEC Executive Director) and Reading of the Declaration of Independence (by Codie Eash, SRMEC Director of Education and Interpretation). FREE. Meet in front lawn of Seminary Ridge Museum.
7:30pm-8:30pm - Panel on Historical Legacy (Featuring Tom McMillan, Jake Wynn, Erin Pearce and Dan Welch; Moderated by Judy Morley, Ph.D., SRMEC Executive Director). FREE. Meet in front lawn of Seminary Ridge Museum.
9:00pm-10:30pm - Outdoor screening of “Independence” from the award-winning HBO miniseries John Adams. FREE. Meet near Hill-Unger Performance Pavilion in Schmucker Grove (near intersection of Seminary Ridge and Springs Avenue). Chair or blanket recommended.
CJ’s Food Truck will be on site all evening!
- FREE -
Bring a chair!
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center