In anticipation of San Antonio’s 300-year anniversary in May 2018, the City will officially launch its public planning effort for Tricentennial celebrations on Wednesday, Jan. 27 at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle. The event begins at 10 a.m.

The Tricentennial Celebration Commission will host the kick-off event where attendees will learn more information about the Tricentennial brand, as well as how organizations and individuals can become official Tricentennial Celebration partners.

Asia Ciaravino, the Commission’s chief operating officer, said the Commission is looking forward to officially launching the brand, its new website and getting the community excited about 2018.

“This will really be our coming out party – to make a really big splash in the community and see how we can get everyone involved,” Ciaravino said.

Wednesday’s event will reveal the historical context behind the brand, how it was formed, and specific objectives the commission will utilize to celebrate San Antonio’s history.

“We want to let people know what we’re doing and how to honor the past, celebrate the present, and look toward the future,” she said.

The commission will also give information about how cultural groups, artists, historians, nonprofits, and everyday community members can apply to be granted “Tricentennial status,” which will give them a brand guide and a spot on the commission’s website promoting their initiatives.

Community initiatives, Ciaravino said, could be anything from a service project to a theater show written about the history of San Antonio.

Mayor Ivy Taylor and Judge Nelson Wolff will give remarks along with commission chairs Katie Luber, Kelso director at the San Antonio Museum of Art, and Lionel Sosa, a local artist and retired advertising and marketing executive.

Performances by local entertainers and artists, including the Trilogy Dance Center, will also take place in an effort to celebrate the Tricentennial launch. The day’s proceedings will be live-casted on the Tobin’s River Walk terrace.

The Tricentennial Celebration Commission was created in April 2015 by Mayor Ivy Taylor in an effort to prepare commemorative events for the city’s 300-year anniversary in May 2018. It is made up of community leaders from various groups hoping to assemble a diverse collection of community initiatives for the celebrations.

To RSVP to the event, contact Jerry Cantu at 210-207-2300 or send an email to jerry.cantu@sanantonio.gov.

*Top image: The sun sets at the Tobin Center. Photo by Scott Ball.

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