Mineola planning sesquicentennial events all year long

By Phil Major
publisher@wood.cm
Posted 2/2/23

A yearlong series of events will help celebrate the city of Mineola sesquicentennial.

Volunteers continue to put together plans for several key events.

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Mineola planning sesquicentennial events all year long

Posted

A yearlong series of events will help celebrate the city of Mineola sesquicentennial.

Volunteers continue to put together plans for several key events.

The coronation of the Royalty Court will be April 29 at the Mineola Civic Center.

For primary-age children, from kindergarten through second grade, the winners will be named either Little Mister or Little Miss Choo Choo. At the elementary level, third through fifth grades, the titles will be Little Mister or Little Miss Iron Horse Mineola. At middle school level, sixth through eighth grades, the winner will be Mister or Miss Iron Horse Mineola. At the high school level, ninth through 12th grades, the winning titles are Mister or Miss Main Street Mineola.

Contestants compete by selling special merchandise, all bearing the Mineola Sesquicentennial logo which is also displayed in a mural on S. Johnson St. in downtown. The merchandise includes a choice between seven styles of drinking tumblers, beach towel, Christmas ball ornaments, commemorative coins, caps, lapel pin, keychain and tee shirts. Money raised will go toward sesquicentennial activities throughout the year.

Merchandise sales will conclude March 31.

Nominees are still being sought for Mr. and Mrs. Sesquicentennial. Nomination forms are being accepted at city hall, with the $100 nomination fee for 60 and older.

Ruthie Foster, acclaimed musician who claims Mineola as her birthplace, will help kick things off in style with a free concert Feb. 16 at the Addie McFarland Community Center.

Mineola Memorial Library will mark its 60th anniversary in March with an open house.

With the city’s official incorporation date of May 20, 1873, a full day of events is planned for Saturday, May 20 at the Mineola Nature Preserve and the downtown area.

A time capsule buried 25 years ago will also be revealed at Mineola High School by the Class of 2023 which will also place another capsule to be exhumed in 2048.

Activities that morning at the preserve include a 5K run, disc golf tournament and bicycle races.

Shifting to downtown at 2 p.m., the beard growing contest will be judged, along with a fashion through the decades contest. Merchants will be having sidewalk sales, and musicians are planned along with food trucks.

The Mineola Golf Club will also have a car and motorcycle show that day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To cap the evening a hot air balloon glow will be held at the civic center from 8-8:30 p.m.

The Mineola Landmark Commission plans to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Mineola’s brick streets on July 1, as well as the completion of the railroad in 1873.

The commission is also conducting 150 interviews for a historic book.

The city is still seeking 150 persons as stockholders for a $150 donation, with the funds used to help put on and promote the events.

This is for individuals. Business sponsorships will also be available.

A concert at the Nature Preserve is planned for October, with date and artists to be announced. The committee did learn that Mineola native Kacey Musgraves is not available for the performance.

The sesquicentennial will also be featured during other events throughout the year, such as the May Fiesta on May 6 and the Iron Horse Heritage Festival on Sept. 23.

The chamber is also incorporating the sesquicentennial theme into its annual banquet March 30.

The Flint and Steel Coalition is coordinating its events throughout the year with the celebration, including its first mural festival in October.