ARTICLE
Celebration of the 175th Anniversary of the Founding of Blair County Kicks Off Sunday Hollidaysburg, Pa. –Blair County’s 175th Anniversary Committee is pleased to announce that its first two events are occurring on Sunday, June 13, 2021. Grit & Grace, a production by Kathy Muller which celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, will be performed at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on the main stage at Lakemont Park. This play was originally performed last year at Baker Mansion. The Committee wanted to showcase it again this year both because of Blair County women’s role in the original fight for women’s right to vote and because the opportunity for the public to celebrate women’s suffrage last year was dampened by the pandemic. The Lakemont Park venue also gives attendees an opportunity to see a piece of Blair County history in person. The Park has been in operation since 1894 and underwent a major renovation starting in 2017. The Park re-opened in 2019 with updated facilities and new attractions that are open to the public. The second event is a concert of the Altoona Community Band organized by the Blair County Historical Society. The concert is one of the Historical Society’s “Sundays on the Lawn” series at Baker Mansion. It will take place at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. with a special dedication of a meridian stone marker. The marker has been in storage for a long time, but will now be displayed publicly. It shows the longitude and latitude of Altoona. Attendees may want to tour the Mansion before the first concert. Tours begin at 11 a.m. and end at 2 p.m. Baker Mansion was the home of Elias Baker and his family who owned the nearby Allegheny Furnace. The Mansion’s construction coincided with Blair County’s founding in 1846. It begun in 1845 and completed in 1849. A major renovation project was completed in 2016. Both events are free and open to the public and the start times allow for anyone interested to attend both. ### Contact: Laura Burke Phone: (814) 693-3030 Email: lburke@blairco.org
Celebration of the 175th Anniversary of the Founding of Blair County Kicks Off Sunday
Hollidaysburg, Pa. –Blair County’s 175th Anniversary Committee is pleased to announce that its first two events are occurring on Sunday, June 13, 2021. Grit & Grace, a production by Kathy Muller which celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, will be performed at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on the main stage at Lakemont Park. This play was originally performed last year at Baker Mansion. The Committee wanted to showcase it again this year both because of Blair County women’s role in the original fight for women’s right to vote and because the opportunity for the public to celebrate women’s suffrage last year was dampened by the pandemic. The Lakemont Park venue also gives attendees an opportunity to see a piece of Blair County history in person. The Park has been in operation since 1894 and underwent a major renovation starting in 2017. The Park re-opened in 2019 with updated facilities and new attractions that are open to the public.
The second event is a concert of the Altoona Community Band organized by the Blair County Historical Society. The concert is one of the Historical Society’s “Sundays on the Lawn” series at Baker Mansion. It will take place at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. with a special dedication of a meridian stone marker. The marker has been in storage for a long time, but will now be displayed publicly. It shows the longitude and latitude of Altoona. Attendees may want to tour the Mansion before the first concert. Tours begin at 11 a.m. and end at 2 p.m. Baker Mansion was the home of Elias Baker and his family who owned the nearby Allegheny Furnace. The Mansion’s construction coincided with Blair County’s founding in 1846. It begun in 1845 and completed in 1849. A major renovation project was completed in 2016.
Both events are free and open to the public and the start times allow for anyone interested to attend both.
###
Contact: Laura Burke
Phone: (814) 693-3030
Email: lburke@blairco.org