Bellefonte will host an Independence Day parade for the first time in four years as part of a community celebration for the 250th anniversary of the United States.
Kicking off at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, July 3, the parade will be followed by the dedication of this year’s Hometown Hero banners and a 75-minute concert featuring the Bellefonte and State College community bands in Talleyrand Park, Deb Burger, speaking on behalf of Historic Bellefonte Inc., told the Centre County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday.
Historic Bellefonte Inc. has in past years dedicated the Hometown Heroes banners honoring local military veterans on Veterans’ Day in November. But for this year’s edition, the banner dedication will be part of the events marking the nation’s semiquincentennial, in collaboration with Downtown Bellefonte Inc.
Hometown Hero banner applications will be available for download beginning Feb. 1 on the HBI website, Bellefonte Borough website and the Bellefonte Hometown Hero Facebook page. Paper copies of the application also will be available at the Bellefonte Borough offices, 301 N. Spring St.; state Rep. Kerry Benninghoff’s office, 140 W. High St.; and the Bellefonte Train Station in Talleyrand Park.
Completed applications can be returned to the borough office or Benninghoff’s office. Unlike in past years, they cannot be returned to the train station, Burger said.
Applications also will be made available to participate in the parade.
“This is America’s 250th, and Bellefonte is the county seat and home to seven governors. We really want to show our patriotic spirit with a tremendous celebratory parade,” Burger said. “So please, we are asking all types of groups that like to party to come and party with us on July 3: twirling groups, dance groups, athletic clubs, Scout troops, church groups, civic organizations, any and everything.”
The parade will start at Bellefonte Area High School and end at Talleyrand Park, much like past Independence Day parades in the borough.
“So the little twirlers do not have to march up the hill,” Burger said.
Burger asked the commissioners to consider a proclamation for July 3 as Bellefonte’s day to celebrate America’s 250th birthday. She previously told Bellefonte Council that she would work with Mayor Buddy Johnson on a similar proclamation from the borough.
She also asked the commissioners to consider the event for any relevant available grant funding. Chair Mark Higgins encouraged HBI to apply for a tourism grant from the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau and Board of Commissioners.
The events join a growing last of ways that Centre County is celebrating the 250th year of the United States.
America 250 efforts in Centre County got underway last May with the dedication of a Liberty Tree on the grounds of the Centre Furnace Mansion in State College.
In November and December, artist-designed commemorative Liberty Bells depicting local history were unveiled at the Centre Furnace Mansion, Eagle Iron Works and Curtin Village in Howard, the Bellefonte Train Station and downtown Philipsburg. The installations are part of the Bells Across PA initiative by America250PA, Pennsylvania’s commission for the statewide celebration of the semiquincentennial.
Downtown State College Improvement District and the Palmer Museum of Art are partnering for a public mural project that will replicate great works of American art from the museum’s collection on downtown buildings as part of the local America 250 celebration.
Other events being planned for 2026 include a free concert at the Bryce Jordan Center and activities connected to the the Central PA 4th Fest parade in downtown State College, the State Games of America, which will be held in Centre County for the first time July 24 to Aug. 2 and Centre County Grange Fair, Aug. 21-29, Edward Stoddard, communications director for the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau and Centre County advisor for America250PA, said at a Jan. 13 State College Borough Council meeting.
An America250PA Centre County kickoff event scheduled for Wednesday night at the courthouse in Bellefonte has been cancelled because of extreme cold and recent snow accumulations, according to the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau. A new date has not been scheduled.
