Across the state, Missouri prepares to celebrate bicentennial with a variety of community events

In August, Missouri will officially celebrate its 200th birthday. That means many bicentennial events are planned this summer, culminating with Statehood Day at the Capitol build­ing in Jefferson City on Aug. 10, the date Missouri officially entered the union. This formal recognition of the milestone will include the unveiling of the Missouri Bicentennial stamp, exhib­its in the Capitol, a U.S. Naturalization Ceremony and more.

Here are a few other celebrations happening across the state:

The State Historical Society of Missouri and the University of Missouri are hosting “Together for 21 Fest,” a three-day event at the Center for Missouri Studies and MU’s Columbia campus. The festival, slated Aug. 6-8, will celebrate Missouri’s 200 years through the arts, with activities such as live music, documenta­ry film screenings and folk art demonstrations.

The First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site in St. Charles will host a commemoration event on Aug. 7 at the place where Missouri’s first legislature met from 1821 to 1826. The event, organized by Missouri State Parks, will give Missourians a chance to tour the original rooms where it all happened.

The Missouri Bicentennial Commission is planning a state­wide ice cream social on Aug. 10. Missourians can join in by signing up online and sharing photos of their community cele­brations under the hashtag #ScoopsAcrossMissouri.

The Missouri State Fair, Aug. 12-22 in Sedalia, will give a nod to the historic anniversary with a bicentennial theme. Com­memorative exhibits and events are joining the fair’s regular agenda of livestock shows, entertainment and more.

The Missouri Bicentennial Quilt is also making its rounds across the state. Quilt block submissions were accepted from October 2018 through September 2019, and one block was selected for each Mis­souri county and the independent City of St. Louis. The quilt exhibition sched­ule will be released a month in advance of each stop. Learn more and check out the submitted and selected quilt blocks at missouri2021.org/bicentennial-quilt.

All in-person events are being planned with health guidelines for COVID-19 safety in mind, but some of them will also be available to participate in via livestream.

Many communities and organiza­tions are planning and hosting their own bicentennial events and projects. Find out more about how you can help celebrate Missouri’s big birthday at missouri2021.org, which includes an interactive map of other activities across the state.