As part of the Aug. 18 festivities commemorating Hutchinson’s Sesquicentennial, the city has organized an aerial photo of the residents who make up the number 150 in the center of downtown.
Organizers estimate it will take about 300 people to fill the spaces, which will create the three numbers, 1-5-0, on the road at Sherman Avenue and Main Street.
Entrants in the photo will be entered into a drawing for a gift basket with over $500 worth of items.
The photo will precede other celebratory activities that night.
“People just show up, starting at 5:30 to 5:45,” said Rebekah Starkey Keasling, the city’s director of public information and community engagement, noting there is no pre-registration. .
Month: Celebrate Hutchinson’s 150th birthday at the mile-long festival downtown on August 18
Where to meet for Hutchinson’s photo?
Participants should meet outside the Sherman Avenue entrance to the Crowe & Co bookstore in downtown Hutchinson starting at 5:30 p.m.
City organizers and Hutch Rec will then line up all participants starting at 5:45 p.m., with the photo taken at 6 p.m.
Month: Hutchinson is looking for time capsule items to be buried on August 15 on his Sesquicentennial birthday
Hutchinson photographer Nick Hemphill will use a drone to take the photo. It will take additional antennae from the dozen or so block parties that stretch from Avenue C to Ninth Avenue on Main Street.
The Reno County Museum is selling 150th anniversary T-shirts, which organizers hope people making the 150 will buy and wear, but it’s not required, Starkey Keasling said.
If not, participants are encouraged to wear the colors of the city, yellow or light blue, although this is also not mandatory.
“It’s going to be a great snapshot of the community,” Starkey Keasling said.
T-shirts can be reserved on the Reno County Museum website. Go to https://www.renocomuseum.org/150th and click on the shirt at the bottom of the page. The cost is $21.
Funds from sales support the Reno County Museum and the preservation of local history.
As people gather for the photo, volunteers will hand out raffle tickets. After the photo shoot is over, they will draw for the prize, Starkey Keasling said.
The gift basket includes a $150 Dillons gift card and 1,000 fuel points; a $150 Sleep Shoppe & Furniture Gallery gift card; H-Bucks Chamber; a Toy Depot gift card; four all-access mission passes and Cosmosphere gift shop shop; Hutch Rec gift certificates; Splinters-N-Rust Hutch Flag tray; City of Hutchinson flag and swag; tickets to an upcoming Family Community Theater show; and more
Planning for the “Block Party” continues
The free “Community Spirit Block Party” will begin at 6:00 p.m. and run until 9:00 p.m.
More than 60 businesses, organizations and civic and community groups will offer free activities and entertainment throughout the celebration.
Month: A new ax throwing venue is opening near downtown Hutchinson
Groups, with specific blocks assigned, will set up tables and activities, ranging from marching bands to bounce houses. Many will offer free appetizers, while a few will have food for sale from food trucks.
Hutchinson’s Time Capsule
Before the Third Thursday activities there will be a time capsule unveiling on August 12 outside the town hall, followed by the burial of a new capsule which will be opened on the 200th anniversary of the city in 50 years.
Hutchinson residents will have one more chance to submit items for inclusion in the time capsule from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Reno County Museum.
People can also email photos or letters (up to three) by August 10 to timecapsule@renocomuseum.org.
The time capsule festivities will begin at 10 a.m., outside City Hall, with the unveiling of the Centennial time capsule, followed by the placement of the Sesquicentennial time capsule.
Speakers will include Hutchinson Mayor Jade Piros de Carvalho and Reno County Museum Curator David Reed. Attendees will be invited into the lobby for refreshments as the exhumed time capsule moves and prepares to be unpacked, Starkey-
The Centennial time capsule, buried outside City Hall shortly after the building was completed in 1972, will be unpacked by Reno County Museum staff in council chambers. Those who want to watch can sit in the gallery or watch the live stream online, Starkey Keasling said.
Month: Watch Hutchinson Monarchs baseball in the 88th World Series on NBC
These objects will then be taken to the museum to be cataloged and prepared for exhibition.
Recipients of the 1972 capsule letters will be contacted by the museum.
Follow the participants’ social media pages or visit the Reno County Museum website for Community Spirit Block Party schedule updates.
