Capital Commemoration

Columbus takes a deep breath and prepares to blow out 200 candles

By Lindsay Friedman

There’s more to celebrate in the middle of February than St. Valentine and his modern-day connection to love, roses and chocolate.

This year, a day in mid-February will mark the city of Columbus’ 200th birthday, and the group coordinating the city’s bicentennial is hoping the party lasts all year long.

The planning process for the city’s 200th began in the summer of 2007, and more than 1,700 participants gave their views on how Columbus should celebrate. The result: a yearlong commemoration that highlights the city’s past, present and future.

“This is really more than just a party or a parade – it is a chance for anyone who cares for the com munity to contribute and participate,” says Jamie Greene, the 200Columbus Bicentennial program manager. “This event is an opportunity that is meant to demonstrate how great Columbus is and who we are.”

The cake will be cut Feb. 10 at the official birthday celebration, to be held in the Battelle Grand Ballroom at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Local food, music and artwork will be celebrated throughout the evening as examples of the things Columbus does so well, and interactive displays will showcase even more of what makes Columbus great.

The weekend will be filled out with other activities, including a COSI Family Day with the Columbus Historical Society.

But the city will be cheering well before Feb. 10 rolls around. First Night Columbus and a ProMusica concert got things going on New Year’s Eve. And from Feb. 2-12, Jazz Moves Columbus – a collaboration between BalletMet and the Columbus Jazz Orchestra – will celebrate the heritage and history of Columbus through music and dance.

“The main goal was not to create a bunch of new events, but to take events we already know and love and elevate them,” says Scott Peacock, bicentennial media relations manager. “The mayor told us from the get-go that this is not just a celebration of the past, but a way to move ahead to the future.”

The biggest 366-day birthday party Columbus has ever seen is planned to be three-tiered. The first four months are for celebrating the past; May through August are designated for celebrating the present; and the last four months of the year will cast an eye to Columbus’ future and the opportunities there. New events will join with old traditions throughout all 12 months to paint a comprehensive picture of where Columbus has been, where Columbus is now and where Columbus is going.

“The bicentennial is a way to motivate us to be getting some of the things done that we should be doing anyway,” says Dan Williamson, spokesman for Mayor Michael Coleman. “We should be doing this not because it’s the bicentennial, but because it is the right thing to do. We want to increase civic pride not because of the bicentennial, but because Columbus is a great city.” cs