America’s coming 250th birthday may bring to mind the Declaration of Independence and reenactments with old guys in funny hats and wigs.
But the American story is much more than that, and included many more people.
“There were other people besides these wealthy white men, and we should name those when we do know their names, and when we don’t, we should question why we don’t know who they are,” said Martina Dodd, the curator at the Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum in Annapolis.
The African American heritage museum is telling the nation’s story through a Black feminist lens. It is one of many museums and groups hosting events in Maryland to celebrate America250, the nation’s semiquincentennial.
From the arrival of tall ships in Baltimore to new museum exhibits, lectures, concerts and block parties, there’s no shortage of things to do to mark the occasion.
Here’s a sampling of events through the Fourth of July, though the celebration continues through the summer.
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Anne Arundel County
The Temple of Our Survival
The Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum set out to focus on the stories and contributions of those often left out of American history books: Black women.
The art exhibit “She Speaks: Black Women Artists and the Power of Historical Memory” opened in February and runs through January. It features collages, paintings, photography, textiles and other works from 17 artists — all of whom are Black women.
“At the center of this exhibit is proclaiming that Black women are equally the founders of this nation as someone like George Washington or William Paca,” Dodd said. “Our lived experiences are just as important — even if they weren’t documented in historical records.”
The work of one of the artists, Alisha B. Wormsley, is at the center of a June 13 event, “The Temple of Our Survival.” Dodd said the installation will feature a 16-by-20-foot “mobile altar” made up of quilted, hand-printed and hand-dyed fabric, textile and woven rugs that will be a site for people to share stories and memories.
The event, which will include performances, interactivity and a panel discussion, is meant to encourage people to consider what they can learn from their foremothers and others about surviving now, Dodd said.
Date and Time: June 13, 1 p.m.-4 p.m.
Price: Free
Location: Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum, 84 Franklin St., Annapolis
Baltimore City
American Freedom Train
For those who didn’t get to see the American Freedom Train at the B&O Railroad Museum in January, you can still do so on July 4, 5, 18 and 19.
Museum-goers can sit in the cab of the train that carried track-and-field great Jesse Owens’ Olympic gold medals and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s robes during the country’s bicentennial and have their photos taken, according to Kris Hollen, the museum’s director.
The B&O has restored the original locomotive that traveled the East Coast and unveiled it this year in honor of America250. Hollen hopes people feel civic pride when they board the train — especially doing so at the “birthplace of railroading.”
“It was Maryland and Baltimore’s gift to the country,” Hollen said. “It changed American life socially, culturally, economically. It really was the internet of its time in terms of how transformative it was to the formation of the United States.”
Hollen estimates about 1,000 people will turn out for the museum’s America250 bash on the Fourth of July.
Date and Time: July 4, 5, 18 and 19, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Price: $20 for adults, $17 for seniors 60 and older, $12 for children ages 2 to 12 and free for B&O Members
Location: B&O Railroad Museum, 901 W. Pratt St.
Sail250 Maryland and Airshow Baltimore
When tall ships from around world arrived in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor for the nation’s bicentennial in 1976, people flocked to the waterfront to see them. Now Baltimore is preparing for more large crowds when tall ships and military vessels return for Sail250, a global event.
The event started in New Orleans in May and will travel to Norfolk, Virginia, before heading to Baltimore between June 24 and June 30.
In addition to the USS Arlington and USS Minneapolis St. Paul, ships from Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Italy, Peru, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Uruguay will be in the harbor. Ships will head to New York and Boston next.
Sail250 Maryland attendees can experience live music and local food at festivals in the Inner Harbor, Fells Point and Baltimore Peninsula as well as educational programming.
Unique to Baltimore will be an air show at Martin State Airport in Baltimore County on June 27-28. It will feature flight demos, flyovers and other performances by the Navy’s Blue Angels, the United Kingdom’s Red Arrows and the Patrouille de France, Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier said at a news conference.
“We’ll have all those, and we’re just asking people to leave their money here, too, in the city and the county,” said Klausmeier, who donned a sequined American flag-style vest.
Chris Rowsom, the director of Sail250 & Airshow Baltimore, expects 200,000 to 250,000 people to attend the nearly weeklong event. The main days, June 26-29, overlap with the Orioles-Nationals series in Washington.
“I think Baltimore’s gonna be rocking,” Rowsom told The Banner. “Baltimore is an amazing city with amazing people and an amazing waterfront, and we want to come back again to visit: that’s what I want people to come away from the event thinking.”
Date and Time: June 24-30
Price: Free
Location: Inner Harbor, Fells Point and Baltimore Peninsula
‘Maryland’s America’ Exhibit
The Star Spangled Banner Flag House, where seamstress Mary Young Pickersgill oversaw the sewing of an American flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore, is hosting an exhibit that will run from next month to July 2028.
“Maryland’s America: 250 Years of American History through Marylanders’ Eyes” features work by Larry Poncho Brown, Lenett Partlow-Myrick, Adrianna Hwang, Jessica Devilbliss, Jasmine Hall, Ray Baylor, Louis Marshall and Hellen Yuen — all from the state.
“One of the overall goals I have for this is to reflect on the ongoing evolution within American democracy and explore Maryland’s integral role in that process, and then the impact of Marylanders on both our nation’s past, our nation’s present and then, hopefully, in our nation’s future,” said Chris Sniezek, the executive director of the Flag House.
Sniezek said the museum will host a talk and demonstration for members on July 15. The exhibit officially opens on July 18.
Time: July 2026-July 2028
Price: $9 for adults, $8 for seniors, military personnel and veterans, $7 for students and free for children under 6
Location: Star-Spangled Banner Flag House, 844 E. Pratt St., Baltimore
Baltimore County
Fourth of July Picnic and Concert
The Pikesville Armory Foundation is celebrating the first 250 years of American music with Bach in Baltimore on July 4. A large brass band and a chamber choir will perform “some of America’s greatest music!” Food trucks will be on site.
Date and Time: July 4, 1:30 p.m.-4 p.m.
Price: Free
Location: Pikesville Armory Foundation, 640 Reisterstown Road
Howard County
John Eager Howard, Howard County’s namesake
Howard County residents can learn about the namesake of their stomping grounds, Revolutionary War veteran John Eager Howard, at a talk by John Beakes, who has written a book about Howard. The event will be held at the historic Waverly Mansion, a property Howard once owned.
Date and Time: June 13, 2 p.m.-4 p.m.
Price: Free
Location: 2300 Waverly Mansion Drive
Reflections on Independence, Then and Now
Want to learn more about the Resolution for Independence and the Declaration of Independence? This event will feature readings followed by a panel discussion and an audience Q&A.
Date and Time: June 28, 2 to 4 p.m.
Price: Free
Location: Monteabaro Hall, Howard Community College, 10901 Little Patuxent Pkwy
Montgomery County
Money of the 13 Colonies Exhibit
The Maryland State Numismatic Society is loaning an exhibit that shows the history of the country through its money to the Gaithersburg Community Museum this summer.
The exhibit features money notes from all 13 colonies and the Continental Congress, some of which were signed by Declaration of Independence signers, said Naomi Pequette, the museum’s facility manager. The money notes detail the period before and after the colonies pursued independence and reveal the nuance of that journey, Pequette said.
Date and Time: June 3-Aug. 2, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Price: Free
Location: Gaithersburg Community Museum, 9 South Summit Ave.
Becoming American Lecture
Want to learn about the 10 men from lower Frederick County (now Montgomery County), who gathered at Hungerford’s Tavern in Rockville in 1774 “to sign historic resolves boycotting trade with Britain in response to its retaliation against Boston for the Tea Party”? You can hear from lecturers on the topic over burgers and locally brewed beer on July 8.
Becoming American 1774 is one of many Museum on Tap lectures that the Gaithersburg Community Museum is partnering with Dogfish Head Alehouse to host.
Date and Time: July 8, 7 p.m.
Price: Free entry (with a $10 discount applied to your check if you purchase food or drinks)
Location: Dogfish Head Alehouse, 800 West Diamond Ave.
Prince George’s County
Anacostia River Boat Tour
The Town of Bladensburg, along with the Anacostia Trails Heritage Area, Defensores de la Cuenca and the Anacostia Riverkeeper, will offer a guided boat tour of the Anacostia River on June 27. The tour will stop at historic sites and highlight Bladensburg’s history as a port town. The boat tours are an hour and 30 minutes long, and organizers offer bilingual services.
Date and Time: June 27, 10 a.m.
Price: Free
Location: Bladensburg Waterfront Park, 4601 Annapolis Road
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