Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Central Park

With America’s 250th birthday being observed this year, a special event is scheduled in Litchfield’s Central Park on Wednesday at 5 p.m. The event coincides with a nationwide reading of the Declaration of Independence, and it will be followed by a potluck supper.

G.A.R. Hall and Meeker County Museum Executive Director Danelle Erickson says people should bring their lawn chairs and a dish to pass to Central Park this Wednesday at 5 p.m. She says July 8th was chosen because that was the date in 1776 that the Declaration of Independence was read to the public for the first time.

Erickson says if the weather does not cooperate, Wednesday evening’s event will move from Central Park to the Litchfield Opera House. She says the next day, July 9th, she will be speaking during the Civil War Roundtable meeting at the Litchfield Opera House at 1:30 p.m. about the “boredom of war” – what soldiers did while they were between battles.

The G.A.R. Hall and Meeker County Museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 10-to-4 and Saturdays from noon-to-4, but Erickson says the museum is open until 6 p.m. on Thursdays this summer and they will open earlier this Saturday – around 10 a.m. – to coincide with the Watercade activities going on in Central Park. The museum is at 308 North Marshall Avenue and you can find more information on social media and at meekercomuseum.org.