CHARLESTON, W.Va. — With the 4th of July nearly two weeks away, West Virginia officials continue preparations for the America 250 celebrations in the Capital City and statewide.
The West Virginia Semiquincentennial Commission met Tuesday afternoon at the state Capitol Complex. State Tourism Secretary Chelsea Ruby and Gov. Patrick Morrisey provided updates during the meeting, emphasizing that the celebration would extend across West Virginia — not just Charleston.
“A lot of communities are stepping forward,” Morrisey said. “I know that it is my intent, and I know it’s always been yours (Ruby) on the call, to ensure that this isn’t just limited to Charleston or the Capitol Complex. This is a date and a celebration that’s worthy of all 55 of the counties and every community.”
Ruby said it’s imperative for the state to be aware of local celebrations — to help support everything the Mountain State has planned.
“We’ll have representatives in all of these areas, but we’re trying to make sure we have a full roster of all the events that are going on in the state,” Ruby said.
The state has put forth an initiative to have synchronized bell ringing ceremonies on July 4 at noon — inviting churches and community organizations to participate — and Ruby said there have been over 100 registrations to join. There have also been efforts to bring America 250 murals to all 55 counties.
Morrisey said he’s visited several of the murals that have been installed already.
“I’ve seen a number of these, and there’s some very good work in many counties across West Virginia,” Morrisey said. “These are going to be lasting works of art; they’re going to remain long after the celebration concludes.”
The state tourism office reported 19 counties have completed murals — Barbour, Berkeley, Boone, Calhoun, Gilmer, Hancock, Hardy, Harrison, Jefferson, McDowell, Mingo, Monongalia, Putnam, Randolph, Ritchie, Taylor, Wayne, Webster and Wetzel.
Additionally, 24 other counties have murals in progress.
Ruby and Morrisey encouraged the 12 counties not currently participating — Doddridge, Fayette, Lincoln, Marshall, Morgan, Nicholas, Pleasants, Raleigh, Summers, Tyler, Wirt and Wyoming — to get involved in the mural initiative.
There’s anticipation for the America 250 Poetry Contest as well, which Morrisey announced recently to invite West Virginians to participate. Submissions are due for the contest by Wednesday, June 24.
Ruby said the official West Virginia Celebrates Freedom pageant begins Friday and noted many people have entered already.
“The events are really starting to pick up, and we’ll really go through the end of the year,” Ruby said. “If you know of events, please help us to make sure they’re on the website, so that we can feature them on social (media), we can feature them in our paid advertising, and really help build up these events and send them resources. So, we’ve got several dozen on there now, but I suspect there are some we’re still missing.”
The Capital City Celebration will run from July 2-5. Morrisey teased more announcements will be coming about festivities related to the Charleston celebrations.