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  History and Bicentennial Focus Group Orientation Binder

  Ten Input Ideas for History and Bicentennial
  Thousands of ideas were generated and all will be considered by the Focus Group.
  
  1  Toni - Juneteenth.
  Embracing all cultures in the city. Honor the people who were here in America first.
  2  Tony - Latino Festival.
  We should have a parade one night, a festival one night, and a night to honor our country and its brave heroes.
  3  Sally - Latino Festival.
  We need to have daily or weekly activities that focus’s on a specific culture and we should also have activities for multi-cultural communities.
  4  Michelle - Arts Festival.
  Every area of Columbus should have a day of volunteerism where they work on some kind of project to improve their area whether it is building, landscaping, improving parks, anything where all community members can take a part
  in celebrating and improving their area they live in.
  5  Nick - Arts Festival.
  Have a three month celebration and use the various public art and ethnic celebrations as part of celebrating our diversity.
  6  Bill - Juneteenth.
  Columbus should celebrate its bicentennial with a big party that stretches down High Street from German Village to the South Campus Gateway.
  7  Amy - Arts Festival.
  The city should organize a multiple act free concert. There should be organized trash cleanup and then we should close off the roads for a little while and have a citywide block party downtown.
  8  Stinson - Arts Festival.
  Emphasize not only the history of Columbus being a diverse City, German Village, Italian Village, etc, but how those areas have changed over the years. Celebrate how blacks, gays, lesbians, Hispanics, Asians, Somalians, etc, have help make Columbus the City it is today.
  9  Mindy V. - Riverfest.
  Showcase historical sites and buildings. Create a podcast that can be downloaded for walking, historical tours in different sections of the city.
  10  Himboden - Arts Festival.
  Highlight local prominent figures, such as Rickenbacker and Dave Thomas, and James Thurber. Also highlight Columbus’ role in historical events, such as our role on the Underground Railroad.

History and Bicentennial

Focus Area Members:

Member	Organization
Auditor Hugh Dorrian (Chair)	City of Columbus
Bob Milborne (Chair)	Columbus Partnership
Bea Murphy	Local Historian
Bonnie Chandler	Columbus Metropolitan Library
Carol Stewart	Franklinton Area Commission
Danni Palmore	Policy Works
Ed Lentz	Pastfinders
Gilbert Price	Columbus Call & Post
Katharine Moore	German Village
Kathy Mast Kane	Columbus Landmarks Foundation
Kim Feinknopf-Dorrian	Ohio Historical Society
Linda Hengst	Ohioana Library Association
Melvin Steward	Neighborhood - Near East
Michael F. Curtin	Dispatch
Michael Wiles	Council of Southside Organizations
Rob Berger	Gay Ohio History Initiative
Senator Ray Miller	State of Ohio
Sherry Buk	Columbus Historical Society

Meetings:	Work Session 1 - Notes
	Work Session 2 - Notes
	Work Session 3 - March TBD

Focus Area Description: The Bicentennial year will include many different celebrations to mark the occasion and it is important to look to your past as well as your future to help celebrate as a community. This focus group will look at what those events will be, what is needed to accomplish those events and how they should be funded.

Key Question: How should we celebrate Columbus’ history and bicentennial?

Public Input about the Focus Area: Respondents emphasized the importance of using the bicentennial as a means to education citizens on our cities history and diversity. Public art was the most popular means by which respondents recommended memorializing the bicentennial and the celebrating our history. Contributors envisioned a meaningful series of public events, potentially located throughout the city, leading up to a major downtown festival celebrating the Bicentennial.

Public Input Themes for the Focus Area:

1. Create a free, inclusive and public bicentennial celebration.
Respondents want to see a free, citywide festival marking our bicentennial.
Others recommended a series of festivals in all the different neighborhoods
throughout the city. From fireworks to block parties, citizens envision a
meaningful event that the public can actively participate in celebrating the
bicentennial.
2. Educate the residents of Columbus on its history. Many contributors
want to use the bicentennial as a way to spur on education of the history of the
city and area. Some respondents focus on school education while others include
ideas like historical markers throughout the city, advertisements, or television
programs featuring historical information on the city.
3. Honor local heroes and re-enact historical events. Several respondents
see the bicentennial as a means of re-enacting historical events that were
meaningful to the city. Others feel that focusing on the local heroes who have
made Columbus what it is today would be an educational and informative way
of celebrating the past, present and future.
4. Emphasize diversity through bicentennial celebrations. Numerous
comments reflect the need for the bicentennial celebrations to focus on
celebrating all the diverse cultures and heritages that make up Columbus’
citizens. This focus should help to teach residents about the diversity of the city
as well as helping young people understand the importance of diversity.
5. Support public art & works throughout the city. Respondents see
a citywide public arts campaign focused on events and people of historical
significance to the City of Columbus as a tangible means of celebrating our
bicentennial and informing the public on the history of the city.

Think Outside the Box...