The City of Bloomington and Monroe County are celebrating their Bicentennial year with a variety of events. But, this is more than a celebration of years. As Mayor John Hamilton says, “It’s more than just a 200th birthday. We commemorate and honor the generations of people – their hard work, generous spirit, and difficult choices – that made this place what it is today. … As we celebrate, let’s resolve to take the best of the past 200 years and use those lessons and inspiration to drive our choices and actions today. With this Bicentennial let’s rededicate ourselves to those values of fairness, charity, kindness, ingenuity, innovation, education and good old-fashioned hard work that brought us here.”
The City of Bloomington is offering events throughout the year, starting off in 2018 with the Bicentennial Street Fair on April 29th. The Bicentennial website offers the full calendar of events.
Want to learn more about Bloomington’s past, present, and future?
Visit the Government Information, Maps, and Microforms Services (GIMMS) department in the Wells Library (2nd Floor, East Tower) to see our Indiana Collection.
The Monroe County History Center is an excellent historical hub just downtown.
The Visit Bloomington website largely offers advice to visitors but is a great resource for locals to look at the city from a new perspective and re-discover forgotten gems.
The City of Bloomington website is another resource for all things Bloomington and a go-to for getting involved with your city.