Pinellas County families packed Heritage Village on Saturday, July 11, for a free festival celebrating two milestones at once: the Largo park's 50th birthday and America's 250th.
The All-American 50 at 250 Bash drew crowds from across the county to the 21-acre open-air museum at 11909 125th St. N. in Largo. Attendees in patriotic attire browsed classic cars, watched historical demonstrations, lined up at food trucks and listened to live music. Dogs got their moment, too. The "Red, White & Woof Zone" packed in spectators for a Patriotic Dog Costume Contest.
"Seeing generations of families honor our past while building a legacy for the future is the perfect way to mark these incredible milestones," Monica Drake, historical museum operations manager for Pinellas County Parks & Conservation Resources, said in a county news release.
Two new exhibitions now open
The bash also marked the opening of two exhibitions visitors can see at no cost:
"Many Voices, One Nation: Stories of Democracy in Our Parks" runs through Sunday, December 20, in the Madeira Beach Cottage on the Heritage Village grounds. The exhibit was created by Heritage Village staff and Eckerd College students in St. Petersburg, developed through the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program and the National Museum of American History.
"50 Years of Collecting, Preserving, and Sharing" is on display in the Roy Helms Gallery inside the Visitor Center. No closing date has been announced.
Both exhibitions are free, making them an easy day trip for Palm Harbor and Dunedin families looking for something to do on a weekday or weekend afternoon.
A park born from civic passion
Heritage Village opened in 1976 as part of a nationwide wave of local history preservation sparked by America's bicentennial. The park holds nearly 30 historic buildings, mainly from the 1850s through the 1930s. Its first structure was the Plant-Sumner House, an 1890s building originally part of the Bellevue Biltmore Hotel campus, preserved through a partnership between the Junior League of Clearwater and the Pinellas County Historical Commission.
Drake told the St. Pete Catalyst the park's founding was "an act of civic love" involving many community stakeholders.
Visiting Heritage Village
Heritage Village is free and open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. It is closed Monday, Tuesday and county holidays. The park is about a 20-minute drive from downtown Dunedin and Palm Harbor. Call (727) 582-2123 for details.
Coming up
- Saturday, September 19 — "National Constitution Week: We the People of Pinellas; Our Split from Hillsborough County" at Heritage Village, the next major event in the park's 50th anniversary series.
