The city of Jacksonville celebrated 200 years Saturday October 4th on the downtown plaza with a day full of live music, activities for kids, food trucks, carnival rides and a whole lot more. And it wouldn’t be a party without a good old fashioned hotdog eating contest!
The featured entertainment for the evening was an energetic performance by Resurrection: A Tribute to Journey, a band who’s singer’s voice shared an uncanny resemblance to Journey’s former front man, Steve Perry. The music was followed by a captivating drone show that paid tribute to the many hallmarks of the Jacksonville community and its history. The drone show featured a display of colorful images in the sky just North of the plaza. Images representing Eli Bridge company, Capitol Records, the Jacksonville Speedway, Lake Jacksonville, the Morgan County Courthouse, President Abraham Lincoln, former heavy weight boxing champion Ken Norton and our local farmers and educators could be seen above the mesmerized crowd.
Judy Tigh of Jacksonville Main Street says it was a great way to cap off a day full of celebrating the city of Jacksonville. “That was amazing….that was amazing. I really loved the fish! With the tale that kind of flipped back and forth. That was cool!” Tigh said. “I think I loved the Ferris wheel turning the best. Terrific job on that,’ she added. “Such a unique experience. I hope we can do it again. How cool was that?!”
Tigh gave credit to the Bicentennial planning committee and Mayor Andy Ezard for all their hard work. She says they can’t be sure but, they estimate that attendance for the celebration was between 15,000 and 16,000 people for the day. Tigh says the Bicentennial book that’s currently in the works will feature moments from the celebration and should be available well before Christmas.
