ADRIAN — In 1825, a settler from New York State, Addison Comstock, and his father Darius made the journey west into the Michigan Territory looking for land. Addison wanted riverside property in order to build a mill around which a town could arise, and found just what he was looking for at a site along the River Raisin. With his purchase of that land, the city of Adrian was born.
Adrian will celebrate its bicentennial this July 4 weekend with a wide range of events held at locations around the city.
Although the actual bicentennial date technically comes in September, the anniversary of Comstock’s land purchase, the city’s 175th birthday celebration was held on July 4 and “we determined that would be the best tradition to keep going,” said city commissioner Mary Roberts, who heads the committee working on the event.
Events that already traditionally take place over the July 4 holiday, such as the Civitan parade and events held by the Adrian City Band and the River Raisin Ragtime Revue, were folded into the celebration. With other groups “it was, do you want to partner with us and what would that look like?” Roberts said.
The result was a variety of community activities including music, historical tours, cultural events, an ice cream social, a community picnic, and more.
Information on the full slate of events, including how to register for the July 4 parade and July 5’s fun run/walk, can be found at tinyurl.com/adrianbicentennial.
Here’s a look at some of what’s on tap.
Thursday, July 3
The celebration begins Thursday, July 3, at the Adrian City Market Pavilion on Toledo Street. An ice cream social kicks off the festivities at 6:30 p.m., featuring free servings to the first 200 attendees. A concert by the Adrian City Band and the Lenawee Community Chorus follows at 7 p.m.
The city band already performs a concert of patriotic music this time of year, and when the community chorus wanted to be part of the bicentennial celebration it made sense for the two groups to team up, Adrian City Band director Brian Gorski said.
Among the program’s tunes are an arrangement of patriotic songs titled “Our America,” an Irving Berlin medley, the “Armed Forces Salute,” and an arrangement of “America the Beautiful” that Gorski originally created as a band arrangement and reworked to add the vocals.
The Adrian City Band itself is part and parcel of Adrian’s history and, in fact, has roots dating back almost as far as the city itself.
Its original iteration was as the Adrian Brass Band, which was founded in 1838, and so “there’s been a community band providing music in Adrian for almost 188 years,” Gorski said.
The group changed and developed over time, at one point becoming the Imperial Brass Band. It gradually expanded beyond brass instruments and became a full-sized band, with instruments of every sort except strings.
Today, the Adrian City Band is the country’s second oldest continually operating band, bested only, Gorski said, by a band in Pennsylvania that’s only about a year and a half older. Its musicians range in age from 12 to almost 90 and run the gamut as far as musical experience.
Friday, July 4
Independence Day begins with the Civitan/Adrian Bicentennial Fourth of July Parade, which steps off at 10 a.m. and heads through downtown Adrian. Next, at noon in Comstock Park, the time capsule that was buried in the park for the city’s 175th birthday will be opened.
The Croswell Opera House, Michigan’s oldest theater, hosts three events starting in the afternoon. First up is an open house from 2-6 p.m. with costumed historical interpreters on hand to talk about the venue’s 159-year history. Silent films will play in the theater throughout the afternoon, giving guests a 1920s-style movie experience.
A talk about the Croswell’s role in early Adrian history, the famous figures who have been on its stage, its 50 years as a movie theater, and its revival in the 1960s as a home for live performance, takes place at 6 p.m.
Then at 7 p.m., guests can take a behind-the-scenes tour of little-seen places in the theater, including views of the original 1866 construction. The tour involves several staircases and a short ladder, so participants are advised to dress accordingly.
July 4’s other events include a commemoration of Adrian’s sister city relationship with Moriyama, Japan, at 2 p.m. in Friendship Alley; a walking tour of Comstock Park, the downtown area, and the fire station, which will have a historic exhibit, at 5 p.m. as part of First Friday activities; and a talk on Adrian’s history by Dr. Howard Pennington at the First Presbyterian Church, 156 E. Maumee St., at 7 p.m.
Those who cannot make the walking tour can do a self-guided tour complete with geocaching.
Finally, at 10 p.m., Comstock Park is the place to view the fireworks display capping off the holiday.
Saturday, July 5
July 5’s activities start at 8 a.m. with the Bicentennial Bolt, a 5K race/1-mile walk beginning at Trestle Park. Entry is $5 and participants get a T-shirt.
Some of Adrian’s most stately old homes get their chance to shine on both July 5 and 6 in the Parade of Homes taking place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 5 and from 9 a.m. to noon July 6.
Nine architecturally significant homes, in various parts of the city, are part of the tour. Tickets are $30 each and limited to 200 tickets. All proceeds go to support the Adrian Center for the Arts.
For more information on each home and to order tickets, go to www.adrianparadeofhomes.org.
For those interested in seeing a classic American pastime in its old-fashioned form, a vintage “base ball” — as it was once called — game pitting the Walker Tavern Wheels against the Detroit Nine takes place at noon at Island Park. Adrian’s own historic baseball team, the Page Fence Giants, will be recognized at the game.
Later that day comes the annual Ragtime Extravaganza hosted by the River Raisin Ragtime Revue, or R4. Activities kick off at 2 p.m. at the PlaneWave Instruments campus at 1375 N. Main St. (M-52).
The event features a wide variety of entertainment along with children’s activities, booths by local historical organizations and service groups, vintage automobiles on parade, food trucks and craft beer, PlaneWave tours, and more.
The Adrian Center for the Arts, which along with R4 is housed on the PlaneWave campus, celebrates its 10th anniversary at the Extravaganza by presenting outdoor art demonstrations and exhibits.
Local, regional, and national performing artists include Adrian singer Braxton Garza; Los Hermanos, also of Adrian; Ragtime Rick and The Chefs of Dixieland, a jazz and ragtime group based in Toledo; New York-based folk performer Jerron Paxton; and of course R4 itself to wrap up the day’s music.
R4 will present two ragtime pieces directly connected to Adrian’s heritage: “A Page Fence March,” published by the Page Woven Fence Co. of Adrian in 1898, and “Adrian Merchants Jubilee,” which dates to 1899. More music with an Adrian connection comes earlier in the day when Garza sings some tunes written by Irish-American songwriter J.R. Shannon, who grew up in Adrian more than 100 years ago.
Also on R4’s program are two pieces not directly about Adrian but which nevertheless evoke the city’s history. One is Scott Joplin’s “Chrysanthemum,” performed to honor Adrian’s one-time status as “The Chrysanthemum City” thanks to its production of those flowers, while the second is Luckey Robert’s “Railroad Blues,” in a nod to the city’s railroad history.
Finally, R4 will premiere “Maple City Rag,” a piece commissioned by the city and composed by William R. Hayes, who will be present at the event. Hayes also gifted a concert band arrangement of his new work to the Adrian City Band for future performances.
The Extravaganza concludes with the weekend’s second fireworks display.
William Pemberton, R4’s executive director, said the event has something for everyone.
“There are plenty of free activities for youngsters, including a make-it-take-it area, musical instrument petting zoo, children’s magician, and bounce house. The featured musical entertainment is top-notch. History buffs will enjoy the Adrian historical exhibits and vintage cars on display. This event is all about showcasing Adrian as a community,” he said.
“We think people will leave the event smiling and thinking to themselves, ‘who knew history could be so fun?’”
July 6
The bicentennial festivities wrap up Sunday, July 6, with three events, two of which begin at 9 a.m.: the second day of the Parade of Homes and a bike tour starting at the Farmers Market Pavilion, led by Adrian Mayor Angela Sword Heath, of Oakwood Cemetery, Monument Park, and other locations.
Then at noon, the entire celebration comes to a close with a community picnic at Comstock Park. People are invited to bring their picnic baskets and blankets, or purchase lunch from one of the food trucks on hand, and watch as a new time capsule is buried at the park.
The time capsule will contain a wide range of items from members of the community, including a copy of the “Maple Leaf Rag” premiered by R4 at the Ragtime Extravaganza and a special Land Acknowledgment which the Adrian Dominican Sisters helped draft.
The Land Acknowledgment recognizes and honors the ancestral people who came from, and continue to be, part of the land on which Adrian stands today: the Meskwaki, Bodewadomi (later known as Potawatomi), Odawa, and Ojibwe peoples. It also calls for the city to be “at the center of healing social and racial injustices suffered by those who were denied the opportunity to raise their families here.”
Anyone who wants to have an item placed in the time capsule can pick up a special business-sized envelope at the Lenawee Historical Museum and then return it with their item inside to the museum, the Adrian District Library, or Adrian City Hall.
In keeping with the nostalgic theme, the first 200 children at the picnic will receive free old-fashioned games. The Adrian Armory will also host activities and serve refreshments.
Another event taking place over the weekend looks at the heritage and impact of Adrian’s Hispanic and Latinx community.
LLEAD Adrian will host Raíces de Nuestra Comunidad, a cultural initiative featuring storytelling, art, and education. Times and locations for the activities will be posted at tinyurl.com/adrianbicentennial.
Roberts, the bicentennial committee’s head, said that the celebration’s scope has been made possible by the many sponsors who got on board. “We’ve had great support. It’s been amazing,” she said. “We’ll get to do some things that we didn’t think we’d be able to.”
After all, she said, for a city to celebrate its 200th birthday is “a once in a lifetime opportunity. … So come and enjoy.”
