Planning for a big birthday party takes some time. Planning for a 200th birthday party takes a lot of time. But organizers have only seven years to put the event together.
The state of Missouri turns 200 on August 10, 2021. The State Historical Society of Missouri has started holding focus groups throughout the state to get public suggestions for the best way to celebrate the Missouri Bicentennial.
Society past-President Doug Crews says the state’s diversity makes the planning a challenge. Diverse economy. Diverse politics. Diverse climate. Diverse geography. Diverse demographics. Crews says the event will be especially important to one group of Missourians. “If we reach children in the schools…we’ll reach the adults, too,” he says. “I think that needs to be a focus on everything we do.”
He hopes recalling the first 200 years of statehood will encourage Missourians to look toward what the state can be in its third century, saying, “It can sort of be the springboard…to the next 100 [and] to develop a real pride in Missouri; Missourians are very proud of our state…and I think we could build on that.”
The celebration actually could start as early as 2017, the first year Missouri applied for statehood. Congress didn’t approve, though, until four years later.
