It’s exciting to think that in less than 3 years we will be mounting a National Commemoration right here in New England! This winter has been productive for Plymouth 400. We presented our plans at the first meeting of the Plymouth 400th Anniversary Commission on January 24th at the State House. The meeting was presided over by Commission Chair Dusty Rhodes, President and CEO of Conventures, and attended by commissioners and legislators, as well as the Directors of the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the officers of Plymouth 400’s Board of Directors, and selectmen from Plymouth and Provincetown. In addition to myself, presenters included organizations represented on Plymouth 400’s Board of Directors, including the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Massachusetts Historical Society, General Society of Mayflower Descendants, the Wampanoag Tribe, Provincetown 400 and Plimoth Plantation. Commissioners from western Massachusetts to Cape Cod and Provincetown left the meeting with a sense of excitement and future meetings are in the works. We are all proud to be working together toward this pivotal moment in our Nation’s history.
Massachusetts 400 is gaining momentum as communities turning 400 in the next decade prepare for the 2020 kickoff. This year’s Mass400 Forum, usually scheduled for March, will be moved to the fall of 2017 as the anniversary communities begin to formalize their plans. Stay tuned for a “save the date” in the coming months.
Plymouth 400’s Business and Organizational Partner program continues to blossom with over 100 partners onboard. To find out who they are and how to get involved, be sure to check them out by scrolling to the bottom of our homepage. Questions? Contact Program Manager Cheryl Soares at casoares@plymouth400inc.org.
Our counterparts in the UK are also moving ahead I their plans for the 2020 commemoration. A new Executive Director, Charles Hackett, has been hired for Mayflower 400 UK and plans for transatlantic events and programs are underway. This fall BBC Radio Devon will be coming to broadcast an American Thanksgiving from our shores in November. Partners in Leiden, Netherlands and Cento, Italy are also planning to join us in a multi-continental event, “Illuminate Thanksgiving” in November of 2017.
Plymouth 400’s exhibit, "Our"Story: 400 Years of Wampanoag History tells the extraordinary story of Wampanoag history and culture beginning in the year 1614 through modern day. The traveling exhibit The exhibit was featured at Massasoit Community College for the month of February as part of the college's 50th anniversary celebrations and will return to the Canton Campus as part of their arts festival in May.
Plymouth 400 and the Kingston Council on Aging's "Why History Matters" series wraps up on March 15th with a presentation on "2020: Honoring America's Story". The series has been very well attended and featured historians and other speakers from around the South Shore.
We are pleased to be invited to this year's History Camp Boston on March 18th. I'll be speaking on a panel of colleagues from around the State on building organizational collaborations to maximize major historic anniversaries intended to renew interest in our cultural institutions through events and programs, increasing the economic impact to those organizations and the Commonwealth. Tickets are sold out, but you can sign up to receive email alerts here.
We are still holding regularly scheduled Community Meetings for anyone wanting to find out more about the commemoration plans and outreach. We also hold regular sessions for those who want to get involved now through 2020. Our next Volunteer 101 session is March 22nd at the Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation Building. Click here to learn more or sign up- with several events and programs planned for this summer, we're looking for all hands on deck!
The Plymouth 400 commemorative license plate is doing well, with new plate owners coming on every day. Our goal is to have a majority of Massachusetts households “Driving America’s Story” for a big impact in 2020! Hence, we are gearing up for our 400th anniversary License Plate Auction this spring! The auction will be online for several weeks, culminating in a live gala auction at a historic location in Boston. Watch for a “save the dates” e-mail coming soon!
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