PEKIN, Ill. – The city of Pekin is hitting a milestone birthday in 2024, and it plans to celebrate throughout the summer months.
2024 is the bicentennial of Pekin. Events have been underway since the start of the year, including a concert series and films each month that show the history of Pekin.
Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Amy McCoy tells WMBD’s “Greg and Dan” a lot of people and work has been put in to make the anniversary as special as possible.
“The Bicentennial Committee was created and brought different folks from around the community together,” McCoy said. “And really the focus is something for everyone. There is a way that everyone in Pekin can celebrate.”
McCoy says numerous events over the next couple months will help celebrate that. Pekin will host a downtown street fair on June 15th, which also features a veteran’s parade and the second annual volunteer community picnic.
She says the town will also be digging up a time capsule from around 1977 on the morning of the Fourth of July, and then place a new one in the ground.
“The city manager is really leading that project, but he is crafting a list, kind of going off some of the current items that are in the time capsule, but then also some things from today that we might want to put in there,” McCoy said.
One of the things McCoy teased that could go in the new capsule are letters from the community.
The Pekin Park Foundation is hosting a Bicentennial Bash on July 6th, featuring an inflatable course, hot air balloon rides, food trucks, and fireworks.
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