Rockdale’s Sesquicentennial Celebration kicks off with a drone show and fireworks on July 4 at Fair Park. There will be food trucks, games and activities for kids and beer concessions by Rockdale Fair Association. At 9:30 a concert featuring The Outsiders will be performed in the pavilion.
On Friday, July 5, first Friday Coffee at the Lucy Hill Patterson Memorial Library is sponsored by Main Street Bookshop and it will be a busy morning with plenty of things to take in. There will be an exhibit by El Camino Real de los Tejas which will be on display through July 20. A Books-to-Big Screen Movies and Books of the Eras Exhibit in partnership with the Kay Theater will be 9 to 11 a.m. Books signings by authors Mary Alford, Beverly Daniel, Kris Land, Greg Lawson, Shannon Morkry and Marshie Morgan will also happen.
The event anticipated by those who were around for Rockdale’s centennial in 1974 will take place from 10 to 11 a.m. and the time capsule that was buried that year will be unearthed. The contents will be on display at the Patterson Civic Center throughout the two-week celebration.
At 11:30 a.m. Dr. John Pruett will host a talk on Domingo Ramon’s New Road to Texas, published in 1716.
Fr iday n ight at 7 p.m., the mov ie at the Kay Theater will be The Hunt for Red October.
Sat urday, July 6 , a t 10 a . m. Rockdale Chamber of Commerce kicks off the Star-Spangled Sesquicentennial Parade which will start downtown and head to Fair Park. There will be a watch party at The 1895 featuring live music by Charlie Weyler and breakfast tacos provided by the VFW Auxiliary.
After the parade will be the Big Splash Birthday Bash at Fair Park from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., sponsored by Rockdale Fair Association. There will be a steak and rib cookoff, water slides and rides, a high-flying ac robatic performance by Lone Star Disc Digs in the show barn, cornhole tournam ent and Rockdale Volu nt e e r Fire Departments Water Polo Challenge. There will also be food trucks and beer concessions. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. a Sesquicentennial Car Show will be presented by Rockdale Speed Shop featuring hot rods and cool classics.
At 6 p.m. at the Kay Theater, RIOT, in collaboration with Alcoa Retirees, will hold an Alcoa History Panel Discussion.
On Sunday, July 7 enjoy a tour of historic Rockdale churches from 12 to 7 p.m. Sunday’s 3 p.m. movie at the Kay Theater is The Jungle Book. An eastside celebration at Sumuel Park will be a nice place to c ool o ff a t t he s plash p ad w ith music by Flower Chamblee.
Wednesday, July 10 enjoy lunchtime historical presentation on George Sessions Perry, Rockdale’s most famous author, at the library at 11:30 a.m.
From Saturday June 8 to Saturday, June 13 cool off at the Patterson Civic Center for a community art exhibit featuring art by student and adults alike and peruse the contents of the 1974 Time Capsule.
The Rockdale Reporter will have more events in next week’s paper. Also check out more details about each event at ht tps:// www.rockdaletx.gov/390/Rockdale- 150th-Birthday.
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