Fireworks, live music and a parade: Here's how Jacksonville is celebrating its bicentennial

A birthday party 200 years in the making is planned for the streets of downtown Jacksonville on Saturday.

The city celebrates its bicentennial with a street party that stretches from James Weldon Johnson Park, down Laura Street to Riverfront Plaza. There will be live music, a parade, food trucks, vendors, artists working on the sidewalks, all leading up to a big fireworks show to wrap up the festivities.

Alan Bliss, chief executive officer of the Jacksonville Historical Society, said more than a thousand people have registered on a free sign-up page for the event, and he expects many more revelers than that.

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"We’re bracing ourselves for a significant number of visitors," Bliss said Monday as he scrambled to find a replacement for U.S. Navy Band Southeast, which had been scheduled to lead a mid-afternoon parade down Laura Street but has canceled public appearances due to Covid restrictions. It turns out it's not so easy to find a marching band on short notice in the summer.

Things are going as well as can be expected, though, he said. "We've never done a bicentennial celebration before," Bliss said.

The celebration marks the anniversary of the first time "Jacksonville" was used to describe the small community along the banks of the St. Johns River. Around 60 residents sent a petition to the federal government on June 15, 1822, seeking to have their town designated as an official port of entry to be named Jacksonville. The petition was never approved. The city officially came into being on Feb. 9, 1832, when the Florida Legislative Council approved Jacksonville's first charter, creating a town government.

Bliss said he hopes people take an opportunity to learn about Jacksonville's history, but also it's future.

"This is not just a time to look back at 200 years of Jacksonville, but to think about what is ahead of us in the next two centuries," he said.

The celebration begins at noon in James Weldon Johnson Park, the square in front of City Hall and the Main Library. An official bicentennial program is scheduled for 3 p.m., with a reading of the original petition and a mayoral proclamation. A parade will then lead the crowd down Laura Street for a concert at Riverfront Plaza by local acts Flipturn, Love and Theft, Let’s Ride Brass Band and Honey Hounds. Fireworks over the river will finish the celebration.

Laura Street will be closed to traffic from City Hall to Riverfront Plaza. Barricades will be set up at the corners of Laura and Duval, Monroe and Adams streets to stop cross-traffic. One lane and a sidewalk on the Acosta Bridge will be closed at noon Saturday to set up the fireworks show. The bridge will be closed to all traffic from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, during the fireworks.

Jacksonville bicentennial celebration events

• Through 2022: Bold City Bicentennial at the Museum of Science & History. Explore Jacksonville's history through science, culture and technological innovation.

• Through June 30: The Soul of Jacksonville at Jacksonville International Sky Gallery. Collection from the Jacksonville History Consortium looking at the city from its founding to the start of World War II.

• Through 2022: Freiseke in Florida and Jacksonville's Norman Studios at the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens. Impressionist painter Carl Freiseke lived for four years in the Arlington area as a boy and never returned, but the place left an impression on him. Posters from Norman Studios, a leading maker of "race films," recall the Arlington studio's heyday.

• 7 p.m. Friday: #Jax200 edition of Legends and Liars. 15-block pub walk, starting at Bold City Downtown where AdLib Luxury Tours tells 13 tales from Jacksonville's history and guests have to guess which one is a lie. $20.

• 9 p.m. Friday: #Jax200 Bicentennial Trivia at Ruby Beach Brewing. Journalist Shelton Hull leads a fast-paced trivia contest based on Jacksonville history. Free.

• 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday: Bicentennial Walking Tour with Isaiah Hart at the Main Library. Jacksonville's founding father returns to tell tales of the city's founding. Sign up starting at 10 a.m.

• Noon to 3 p.m. Saturday: Arts market and historical exhibits at James Weldon Johnson Park and along Laura Street. Vendors, food trucks, exhibits, historic re-enactors and live performances by the Jacksonville Children’s Chorus, the John Lumpkin Band and LPT. Free.

• Noon to 3 p.m. Saturday: Painting the Scenes and The Imposters on Laura Street. Eight Jacksonville artists will be painting live along Laura Street, and historic character re-enactors will perform. Free.

• Noon to 4 p.m. Saturday: My Jacksonville art show at Main Library, Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville and New Jacksonville Art Center at 331 Ashley St. Local artists and kids show their interpretations of Jacksonville history.

• 1 p.m. Saturday: Jacksonville Origins at the Main Library. Emily Lisska, former executive director of the Jacksonville Historical Society, discusses the circumstances surrounding the city's founding. Pre-registration required.

• 1 p.m. Saturday: Empower People with Disabilities in front of Main Library and MOCA Jacksonville. Live mural painting.

• 2 p.m. Saturday: Wheelchair Art Creation near Main Library.

• 3 p.m. Saturday: Jacksonville Bicentennial Program at James Weldon Johnson Park. Reading of original petition to name Jacksonville and mayoral proclamation.

• 4:15 p.m. Saturday: Honoring Where We've Been, Where We Are and Where We Are Going March from James Weldon Johnson Park, down Laura Street to Riverfront Plaza.

• 5 p.m. Saturday: The 1822 — Jacksonville Bicentennial Celebration Concert at Riverfront Plaza. Flipturn, Love and Theft, Let’s Ride Brass Band and Honey Hounds perform on the old Jacksonville Landing site.

• 8 p.m. Saturday: Best of R&B Bands at the Ritz Theatre. Concert featuring music from the greats of rhythm and blues. $20-$25.

• 10 p.m. Saturday: Bicentennial fireworks show over the St. Johns River.

• 5 p.m. Sunday: Jacksonville @200 Celebration Concert at St. John's Cathedral. Before heading off for a European Tour, the First Coast Wind Symphony plays a concert of Jacksonville-themed songs. Free.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville bicentennial: A guide to celebrating the city's 200th