July 4th, 2026, is the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

To celebrate the anniversary, or the “Semiquincentennial,” Mineola is putting on a real show.

The America250 informal committee met at city hall on Wednesday, Feb. 11 to give updates on each member organization’s plans for the event.

Many local organizations and individuals are working together to offer a celebration that is above and beyond. Participants include the Mineola Civic Center, the Lake Country Playhouse and the Historic Select Theater, the Mineola Memorial Library, Wisener Field Airport, the Rotary Club, the Mineola League of the Arts and the Kiwanis Club.

Current plans include a parachuting event at the football stadium; a laser light show from the theater; a giant canvas dart painting and free watermelon from the Mineola League of the Arts; a fly-in and pancake breakfast from Wisener Field; a 22-foot “Red, White, and Cool” waterslide, cornhole, giant Jenga, etc. at the Civic Center; a reading of the Declaration of Independence by women in period costume from the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Elizabeth Denton English Chapter, and more.

There will, of course, be fireworks.

The activities are intentionally being planned at different times of day – including some planned for July 3 – so that people who want to attend several events don’t feel rushed. 

“I really like things being spread out, because people feel rushed if you have so many things at one time,” said Doris Newman, the Mineola Main Street Manager/Historic Preservation Officer. “And I really want people to feel not how we feel in modern times – where we just feel like we’re multitasking, where we are balancing, we’re juggling – and be able to enjoy the things that all of y’all are responsible for helping us to offer.”

Newman said they welcome and are aiming for activities that are “something different…  that’s not the same thing that we always do.”