The year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Cardinal News has embarked on a three-year project to tell the little-known stories of Virginia’s role in the march to independence. This project is supported, in part, by a grant from the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission. You can sign up to receive a free monthly newsletter with updates. Find all our stories from this project on the Cardinal News 250 page.
Rosie Rios, chair of America250, remembers the feeling she had as a child watching the fireworks on the Fourth of July in 1976 during the country’s bicentennial like it was yesterday.
“I was never more proud to be an American than on that day,” said Rios, who spoke to a crowd of representatives from various states during the second “A Common Cause to All” conference in Williamsburg, as the nation prepares to celebrate its semiquincentennial anniversary in 2026. As head of the national commemorations, Rios said she wants her own children to “feel the same way I did that day.”
Rios gave a preview of the events she and her team have planned leading up to 2026 and beyond during the conference, which was held recently at Williamsburg Lodge in Colonial Williamsburg. More than 400 people from 37 states were in attendance.
America250 recently launched America’s Field Trip, which provides students in grades 3 through 12 with the opportunity to share what America means to them. Another initiative, America Gives, is set for September 11, 2024. The intent is to hold the largest-ever acts of national service in the country’s history that day, with a further goal of breaking a world record for being the country with the most collected volunteer hours ever recorded by 2026. America250 will also be hitting the road, visiting towns large and small and speaking to everyday citizens about their experiences as Americans.
“We need to go where history happens, and go where the future is going to take us,” Rios said.
Entrepreneurs and small businesses will be honored during the America Innovates traveling tech expo scheduled for December 2025, which will also give children the chance to learn from the leaders of tomorrow. Rios is also helming the America Waves campaign, which will encourage everyone to pause their personal celebrations on Independence Day in 2026 at 2:50 p.m. and collectively wave their American flags. Also on July 4, 2026, a time capsule featuring memorabilia from all 50 states will be buried at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pa.
Currently, 46 states and U.S. territories are also planning their own individual commemorations. Festivities have already begun or are set to soon begin in various states. Massachusetts is leading efforts in New England, where it held an event honoring the semiquincentennial anniversary of the Boston Tea Party in December 2023. During that monumental event leading up to the Revolution, colonists protested taxes imposed by the British by destroying 92,000 pounds of East India Company tea on December 16, 1773.
To commemorate the Boston Tea Party, Massachusetts Revolution 250 encouraged people to join in the fun by sending in tea donations.
“This history, which we love so much in Massachusetts, is not just ours,” said Jonathan Lane, executive director of Massachusetts Revolution 250. “We received 11,000 donations from all 50 states and 18 countries. We reached an international level. We received 100 pounds of tea from a school in Indonesia.”
Collaboration will be important as states prep for the milestone anniversary. Select states in the Northeast, as well as states in the Midwest, are joining forces on celebrations.
“Our stories are interwoven, and we have amazing stories to tell,” said Jonah Spivak, communications coordinator for the town of Bennington in Vermont. “It’s those stories that unify us.”
Spivak and Lane were part of a panel discussion about state collaborations for 250 programs nationwide, along with Kevin Hampton, curator of history for The Wisconsin Veterans Museum, and Cheryl Wilson, executive director of the VA250 Commission.
As the states flesh out their programming and activities, Hampton noted it will be vital to “meet the audience where they are at,” and find innovative ways to “inspire them,” as they work to reach those who may not be interested in history or don’t fully understand it.
“History isn’t what happened; history is why it happened,” he said. “We need to reflect on the why. How do we translate what happened 250 years ago and make it relevant to the audience of today?”
On April 18, 2025, Hampton would like to see two lights on in every state house in honor of Paul Revere’s famous Midnight Ride on April 18, 1775, from Boston to Lexington, warning of the movements of British troops. The event will coincide with a day of service on April 19 as well as Earth Day celebrations on April 22.
Want to get involved?
Find the contact for your community’s 250 committee.
“We need to make what happened meaningful to today and hopefully that is what inspires,” Hampton said. “We need to make them understand what it was all for, a chance of a better tomorrow.”
Wilson noted that the idea with the state commemorations is “to dream big and cheer each other on. Good people working together for a good purpose accomplish good things. We have the opportunity and ability to create programs that will help advance us to be a more perfect union.”
Closer to home, North Carolina will kick off its festivities this year with Halifax Resolves Days: Prelude to Revolution the weekend of April 12-14. The Halifax Resolves are considered to be the first official acts of any colony recommending independence from Great Britian.
In Virginia, many localities are also planning various events to include workshops, lectures, musical performances, films, reenactments, and other programming at museums and historical sites across the commonwealth. Yorktown has at least a half a dozen major 250 events lined up, including the 250th Yorktown Resolves, July 18-20, 2024; and the 250th Yorktown Tea Party, November 4-10, 2024.
Carly Fiorina, VA250 National Honorary Chair, encouraged Virginians to do their part in honoring America’s history.
“Every great movement started as a grassroots, bottoms up community by community movement,” she said. “It’s about connecting with the people we know, the places we know, and the leaders we know, and reclaiming our past to move forward with our future.”
All Americans are encouraged to share their stories about what America means to them at www.america250.org.