On Nov. 9, 1816, William and Lawrence Myers platted the village of Sunbury in Berkshire Township, and for the past year a committee of 10-plus volunteers have been planning Sunbury’s bicentennial celebration.
Two members of that committee, Cindy Erndt and Rhonda Mourne, attended a recent Sunbury Village Council meeting to ask council members to approve a list of dates for specific bicentennial-related activities throughout 2016.
Rather that scheduling one big bicentennial event, members of the committee chose to apply a bicentennial theme to existing village events, and add several bicentennial-specific events, Erndt said.
“The kickoff will be at this year’s Christmas on the Square, followed by a January media blitz,” Erndt said. “The Fourth of July will be the main event. On Saturday, July 2, there will be a traditional Independence Day parade and flea market on the square. On Sunday, July 3, there will be an outhouse race and evening events on the square. The memorial volleyball tournament and fireworks will be on Monday, July 4.”
Erndt passed out a mockup of a Sunbury bicentennial calendar with historic photos and space for a sponsor each month; she said there would be stickers and patches with the Sunbury bicentennial logo and other promotional items.
“The entire year will cost $31,000; the biggest expense will be fireworks,” Erndt said. “We’re hoping to get businesses involved in making donations. We just need some money right now to get started.”
Erndt said the Big Walnut Civic Association’s increasingly popular Sunbury Sizzle & Sounds has become self-supporting and will have a separate budget, but it will feature some historic theme music.
Bicentennial sponsor information will be available via a letter being sent to local businesses, and also on the Big Walnut Civic Association website, the Sunbury/Big Walnut Area Chamber of Commerce website and the village of Sunbury website.
Sponsorship levels range from $250 to $10,000.
Council members approved the schedule of bicentennial activities. Mayor Tommy Hatfield said monetary support would be discussed during the 2016 budget process.
