Allen County Bicentennial celebration officials have added more to their plans. After announcing the “I am Allen” sculptures that will be going up throughout the county, officials announced Friday they are looking for local artists to apply. The deadline for applications is May 31. Artists interested in applying can do so online.
Officials added two more legacy projects to the bicentennial celebration plan. Legacy projects are projects intended to have a permanent impact on the community.
One is being organized by the Young Leaders of Northeast Indiana (YLNI), and it’s called 200 Acts of Kindness. The goal is for individuals and organizations to have kindness on their minds as they celebrate the bicentennial by doing something as simple as holding the door open for someone or paying for the next person in line.
Bicentennial Bash Celebration Co-Chair Irene Walters said keeping track of those acts of kindness will operate on the honor system.
“There’s no kindness police,” Walters said.
YLNI said community members can share their acts of kindness on a Facebook page.
The other legacy project is an Allen County time capsule. Students at the Amp Lab at Electric Works will be in charge of putting that together.
Amp Lab Director Riley Johnson said he’s excited to give his students direct involvement in the bicentennial celebration.
“They’re going to lead the process of calling on the community, of bringing together artifacts that represent both the past and the present,” Johnson said.
Officials said the bicentennial celebration is meant to celebrate the past, present and future of Allen County.
In that same spirit, Johnson said Amp Lab students were already making sure the time capsule won’t only highlight the county’s past and present.
“One of them immediately went to the Google project,” Johnson said. “How cool would it be to use this time capsule to represent the momentum that that brings to the next 50 years?”
Johnson said he wants students to highlight the past, present and future of the county as well as the different communities and demographics of the county with this time capsule.
With Amp Lab on the Electric Works campus, officials said it’s likely the time capsule will be displayed there, but he said it is ultimately up to the students where it will permanently live. They have not reached that decision yet.
Bicentennial Bash Celebration Co-Chair Irene Walters said students’ involvement in overseeing the time capsule could keep them in Allen County after graduation.
“The more engaged and involved (they are) and have a voice, then, they will stay,” Walters said.
The time capsule and the 200 acts of kindness will be presented at the Bicentennial Bash on November 16 at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Officials said the dress code is business formal and that tickets will be $75.
