The City of Troy is seeking to unite the community in many and varied ways during the three years of Alabama’s Bicentennial Celebration, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

The Reunion Troy committee met Thursday to begin to firm up plans for the city’s Alabama Bicentennial Launch Party in the early fall.

“The city will host a communitywide party that will bring everyone together in an effort to generate interest and excitement about the three-year celebration of Alabama’s history and to provide information about upcoming events,” said Isaiah Scott, City of Troy Tourism/Public Relations administrative assistant.    

The plan for Reunion Troy is to celebrate the city’s many historic and interesting places in 2017, its people in 2018 and the city’s stories in 2019.

Scott and Tessa Paul, graphic artist for the city, designed the Reunion Troy logo for Troy’s Bicentennial Celebration.

“The Reunion Troy logo will be used throughout the three-year Bicentennial celebration and will be used to designate places of historical significance and interest around the city,” Scott said. “It may also be used for specific events.”

Troy Council Member Stephanie Baker said, while the city is taking the lead in Reunion Troy during the early months of the celebration, the Bicentennial Celebration is an opportunity for churches, schools, clubs, organizations, etc. to share their histories and recognize the people who have made significant contributions to their successes and their longevity.

The Troy Public Library has commissioned a Bicentennial mural, which may be viewed in the genealogy department of the library.

“William White, library director, has plans for a Civil Rights exhibit, a decades party, blog submissions and quarterly genealogy sit-ins,” Baker said. “The Johnson Center for the Arts and Troy University will write and produce a musical titled ‘The Day the Train Came to Troy.’ The musical will be performed in 2019.”

Scott said the City of Troy would be remiss if Georgia Congressman and Pike County native John Lewis were not honored during the Bicentennial Celebration. The city has tentative plans to honor Lewis during the month of February 2018.

Suggestions for Bicentennial celebrations included erecting historical markers, arts and cultural events, musical events, city tours, and reunions for various schools, clubs, organizations and teams.

Scott said a unique way to share stories and photographs is through participation the state’s podcast, “Greetings for Alabama.”

“Those who are interested can send pictures and information about places in Troy to me either by posting on Facebook or by email at isaiah.scott@troy.edu and tag them the ‘Reunion Troy’ page,” Scott said. “The Alabama Bicentennial Reunion Committee will determine which places around the state to visit. Hopefully, Troy will have one or more of those places.”

The next meeting of Reunion Troy will be at 5 p.m. on August 17 at the Johnson Center for the Arts. The public is invited to attend and participate in the meetings.