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Clark County Bicentennial Committee Chair John Detrick said there will be special appearances by certain historical figures at the sold-out event, including frontiersman Simon Kenton, presidents Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant and Gen. George Custer.
There will also be music provided by the Pleasant Street Blues and a meal catered by the Simon Kenton Inn. A special recognition ceremony honoring the 11 surviving Clark County commissioners will also take place during the party, Detrick said.
Clark County Fairgrounds executive director Dean Blair said attendees will be in for a treat when they enter the party.
“When people look around, they’re not going to believe they’re at the Clark County Fairgrounds,” he said. “This is going to be the party of the year.”
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The current Clark County commissioners hosted a regular board meeting on Wednesday, the 200th anniversary of the first ever Clark County Commission meeting. The commissioners celebrated by reading the journal of the first county commission meeting.
“Two hundred years ago today the Clark County Commissioners met for the very first time,” Clark County Commissioner Melanie Flax Wilt said. “They had serious things to discuss, and we actually just by coincidence have our meeting on the same day and it fell 200 years to the day.”
The local government was set during that meeting, Commissioner Lowell McGlothin said, and much of it is still the same today.
“It says something for the forefathers to be able to put that together for us,” McGlothin said.
Detrick said there are other bicentennial events planned for the rest of the year. In August, there will be special tours of 200-year-old farms where people can learn about Clark County’s agricultural history.
The bicentennial theme will carry over into other events, Blair said, including the Clark County Fair, which is set for July 20-27 this year. Those who attend will be able to see an actual Champion reaper, which helped give Springfield its nickname of Champion City. There is also a bicentennial-themed fireworks show planned for July 2, he said.
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Blair said he’s happy so many people have taken interest in the bicentennial campaign.
“We thought the bash was going to be the be-all and end-all of it,” he said. “But so many people were so excited and now they’re expecting more.”
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