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Lincoln Minutemen reenactors participate in a dawn muster during Patriots’ Day celebrations in Lincoln on April 21. (Photo courtesy Jennifer Glass)
When reenactors fired their muskets on Patriots’ Day weekend to mark the 250th anniversary of the start of the Revolutionary War, they were participating in public events that were years in the making.
For a number of communities, the commemorations were the result of years of planning that continued through numerous board, committee and leadership changes.
Suzie Barry, chair of the Lex250 Commission and a former Lexington Select Board member, said planning efforts for the 250th celebration in her town started more than seven years ago. While the town plans Patriots’ Day activities every year, the 250th was a much bigger affair, with crowds in the tens of thousands. Prior experience planning other milestone anniversary celebrations, like the 300th anniversary of Lexington’s founding, was essential for developing plans for the 250th celebration.
Lexington typically holds Patriots’ Day celebrations on the holiday itself, which falls on a Monday, but state and local public safety officials advised shifting the events to the Saturday prior, due to the significant foot and vehicle traffic related to the Boston Marathon on Monday.
Barry stressed the value of collaboration among communities and other involved parties, like the Minuteman National Historical Park.
“It took consensus, it took communication to make it happen,” Barry said.
British “Regulars” march during a reenactment of the Battle of Lexington Green on April 19 as part of the town’s annual Patriots’ Day celebration.
In addition to coordination among elected officials and town departments like police, fire, and public works, Lexington partnered with other towns commemorating the anniversary — the fellow Battle Road communities of Concord, Lincoln and Arlington. These towns entered into a formal intermunicipal agreement in 2023, and convened collaborative meetings regularly with two representatives from each town. Each town contributed funds to pay for services like inter-town transportation and event coordination.
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Association worked with each community to develop emergency operations centers locally, and agencies including the State Police and FBI were involved in event planning. Local hospitals were notified of events well in advance and were on standby in the event of a large-scale emergency.
Concord saw the anniversary as a chance to reflect and build something for the future. The town created a Concord250 Permanent Memorial Subcommittee to look at initiatives that bring the town’s Revolutionary past into the conversation with present-day critical issues. The committee has made recommendations for a permanent memorial honoring the struggle for social justice, as well as tree plantings for a more sustainable Concord.
As an indicator of potential public interest in historical celebrations, Barry said planners looked at the 250th anniversary celebration of the Boston Tea Party in 2023, which drew crowds that are “four, five, six times what we see in a year.”
“They have all been friendly crowds,” Barry said of prior landmark celebration events in Lexington. “They have all been cooperative crowds, they have all been enthusiastic crowds.”
Lexington town officials and members of the town’s state legislative delegation march in Lexington’s annual Patriots’ Day Parade on April 19. The town held five days of events as part of the 250th anniversary celebration of the start of the Revolutionary War. Pictured, left to right, are Lexington Select Board Member Mark Sandeen, Rep. Ken Gordon, Lexington Select Board members Joe Pato, Doug Lucente, Jill Hai and Vineeta Kumar, and Sen. Cindy Friedman.
Lexington launched a significant marketing effort, engaging a public relations firm that also handled the anniversary website and crisis communications, as well as a local event planner with extensive experience with large-scale events.The costs for these services were funded by a combination of American Rescue Plan Act funds, earmarked grants from the state, and money appropriated to Lex250 by Town Meeting.
Despite all the planning, Barry said communities “have to be open for things just falling in your lap.” When Ken Burns expressed an interest in attending the events and screening his new documentary on the American Revolution, planners found an event space and time in the schedule, and created a 100-ticket lottery for each town.
Lexington officials estimated that more than 100,000 people visited the town during the course of the weekend, with between 20,000 and 25,000 in attendance for the battle reenactment, along with 120 credential media personnel. Concord250 officials estimated the weekend crowd at about 70,000 visitors.
“All of the planning paid off,” Barry said. “It’s the three Cs: collaboration, communication, and consensus. You can’t do it without those.”