Lewisville City Hall will become the backdrop for a celebration of American history Thursday as two local heritage organizations commemorate Constitution Day and the nation’s 250th anniversary.
The Cross Timbers Chapter of the Texas Daughters of the American Revolution and the Denton County Chapter of the Texas Society Sons of the American Revolution will host the free community event at 5 p.m. this Thursday, Sept. 17 in front of Lewisville City Hall.
The patriotic and educational program will feature a formal presentation of colors, live music by Harmony Roads and living-history readings of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution. DAR and SAR members dressed in traditional colonial attire will participate in the readings.
Lewisville Mayor TJ Gilmore is also scheduled to present proclamations recognizing America’s 250th anniversary and Constitution Week. The program will include a synchronized ringing of bells by attendees and conclude with a community sing-along of “God Bless America.”
Guests will receive complimentary patriotic gift bags containing handheld American flags, bells for the ceremony, educational bookmarks featuring the Constitution’s preamble and information about the participating organizations.
The event coincides with Constitution Day, observed each year on Sept. 17, the date delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the document in Philadelphia in 1787. Constitution Week is observed Sept. 17-23.
The celebration also comes during the United States’ semiquincentennial year, marking 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
As part of its Constitution Day observance, the National Archives Museum in Washington, D.C., is displaying George Washington’s annotated copy of a draft of the U.S. Constitution from Sept. 16-Oct. 9. The document includes revisions in Washington’s handwriting from his time presiding over the Constitutional Convention.
