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Allen County-Indiana Bicentennial Year-End Summary

The Allen County-Indiana Bicentennial Task Force is wrapping up a full year of organizing events and activities to mark the 200th anniversary of Indiana statehood. The task force:

· Helped launch the yearlong celebration at a press conference at the Allen County Courthouse on Dec. 11, 2015, with Mayor Tom Henry and other community leaders.

· Provided interactive educational activities at the Allen County Public Library’s Winterval on Jan. 30.

· Worked with Allen County Public Library staff members John Beatty and Megan Bell to create an online timeline of Fort Wayne and Allen County history at http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/home/explore/genealogy/indiana-bicentennial.

· Held an ALL-IN Progressive Block Party April 1-3 at all 14 ACPL locations.

· Hosted a float for the Three Rivers Parade on July 9 and distributed celebratory bookmarks to the crowd.

· Sponsored Bicentennial night at the TinCaps game on July 29.

· With the Allen County Public Library, sponsored a crowd-sourced image collection initiative called “Who’s a Hoosier” in which more than 3,000 photographs from across Indiana were submitted and posted online in the library’s Community Album at http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/home/research/eresources/community-album.

· Helped organize logistics for the official Bicentennial Torch Relay on Oct. 1.

· Co-hosted the educational Lincoln Symposium on Nov. 17 with the Friends of the Lincoln Collection.

· Solicited corporate sponsorships for 19 custom-made bicentennial benches that were installed in the city’s legacy parks.

· Co-sponsored a closing event Dec. 10 at the Fort Wayne Mad Ants basketball game with Heartland Sings. At halftime Heartland Sings led the crowd in a live radio broadcast of “Back Home Again in Indiana,” and they held a concert after the basketball game, singing Indiana musicians’ favorite songs.