Saturday, June 11
A city only gets one bicentennial. Jacksonville deserves a moment to reflect on its first 200 years and to glance ahead at the next 200. The city of Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Historical Society will commemorate, celebrate, and elevate Florida’s most authentic city with an all-day/evening event.
From noon to 3 p.m. James Weldon Johnson Park (JWJ) will host performances by musicians, bands, choirs, and more. Laura Street (from JWJ to Bay Street) will be blocked off with food trucks, historical displays/videos, vendors, bars, horse and carriage rides, reenactors, and local artists.
The official ceremony kicks off at 3 p.m. in JWJ with the singing of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by the Jacksonville Children’s Chorus. This will be followed by a reading of the original petition to name the town Jacksonville, a reading of a Mayoral Proclamation, speeches, and acknowledgements. The hour-long ceremony ends with the Navy Band Southeast leading a parade down Laura Street to Riverfront Plaza for the evening’s festivities.
Beginning at 5 p.m. at Riverfront Plaza will be performances by Let’s Ride Brass Band, Honey Hounds, Love and Theft, and Flipturn, along with vendors, games, and fireworks.
Noon to 10:30 p.m., downtown Jacksonville. jax200.org
