Bicentennial celebration brings Tuscaloosa community together

The Tuscaloosa 200 Bicentennial Commission envisions Dec. 13 will end the city’s official 200th birthday celebrations with a big party that brings residents together.

“Unity. Isn’t that really what celebrations do? That was what, birthdays, family reunions class reunions ... the point of those are to provide an opportunity for people to come together in unity. I think that is what this celebration has done for our city,” said Cathy Randall, commission co-chair.

The December events will conclude a yearlong celebration that has included concerts, art, expos, educational events and other affiliated activities. The celebration had monthly themes beginning with history in January.

It’s a celebration made possible through the generosity of the city, higher education partners, corporate partners and individuals that have supported the programs, Randall said.

“We think all the institutions, the companies, the industries realize that they would not be who they are if they had not been planted in the soil of Tuscaloosa. I think we can say that is true of individuals as well ... we would not be who we are if had not been planted in the soil of this wonderful city,” Randall said.

This month, the celebration includes the community book experience, which was delayed in September as the community came together for the funeral of Tuscaloosa Police Investigator Dornell Cousette, who was killed in the line of duty.

The Tuscaloosa Community Book Experience will feature “Tuscaloosa: 200 Years in the Making” by Guy Hubbs. The event is Thursday, Nov. 21, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the second floor atrium of the Tuscaloosa Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse. As part of the program, Don Noble will interview Hubbs.

Hubbs’ book tells the story of Tuscaloosa in accessible way, Randall said.

“This is not a list of dates, places and people. He identified six pivot points in the 200 years of Tuscaloosa and demonstrated how the city changed. How the city transformed both in the short-term and the long-term around the six events and the impact individuals made on those changes and the impact individuals felt as a result of those changes,” Randall said.

On Dec. 12, 10 community choral groups will participate in “Tusca200sa Sings” at the Moody Music Building on the University of Alabama campus. The show will include 200 singers on stage performing the song “Tuscaloosa” written by Kirsten Hicks.

“We also have right here in our own community so many talented musical people,” said Shelley Jones, the community engagement chair for the Tuscaloosa Bicentennial Committee.

The music festival held in March at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater featured all-star acts with Alabama roots. But the choral show is about showcasing the community’s talent, Jones said.

“One thing we have all thought about, every event everything we are doing is to be inclusive. That has just been a mindset of all of us. All aspects,” Jones said. ”

The events on Dec. 13 will include the unveiling of the bicentennial sculpture at Manderson Landing at the University of Alabama, the dedication of a bicentennial time capsule and the community’s annual Christmas parade.

The installation at Manderson Landing includes a bronze sculpture of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom who is also on the university’s seal, and a bronze trace representing the course of the Black Warrior River from Tuscaloosa to Demopolis.

Mementos of 2019 will be hermetically sealed in the capsule, which will be opened on Dec. 13, 2069. Elizabeth McGiffert, the events chair for the commission, has been traveling across town collecting items for the time capsule.

“People are so creative and so interested in submitting items for the time capsule,” she said.

Some of the items in the time capsule include a shirt from the Alcove featuring the “T-town Python,” menus from local restaurants, a bicentennial banner, posters from the Druid City Music Festival and the Bicentennial Bash, items from boxing heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder and UA football coach Nick Saban and a jersey from UA’s men’s wheelchair basketball team.

Easterseals also provided a bicentennial-themed Christmas ornament. The agency made the point of donating the 200th ornament for the time capsule, McGiffert said.

“I could have cried. It was just the perfect example of the community buying in to the bicentennial. I just was so excited,” she said.

The 44th annual West Alabama Christmas Parade hosted by the Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority will be the final bicentennial event of the year and begins in downtown Tuscaloosa at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 13. The grand marshals will be the three co-chairs of the Tuscaloosa 200 Bicentennial Commission, Former Tuscaloosa City Council President Harrison Taylor, Tim Parker Jr. of Parker Towing and Randall.

The celebrations will end on Dec. 13, but the commission members predict the bicentennial’s impact will be far reaching.

“Our goal was to plant trees under which future generations will sit,” Randall said.

Jones noted the books, videos and other educational materials will be used for years afterward.

“We are leaving a lot of the things from this year’s effort that we may never even see the good that comes from them down the road,” Jones said.