Independence Day Celebration at the Flagler Museum

Tuesday, July 4th at 8:00 p.m.

Each Fourth of July, during this most American of holidays, Flagler Museum Members at the Sponsor level and above are invited to share an evening of activities filled with meaning and symbolism.

As Members arrive for the celebration they will find the Pergolas and walkway leading to the Flagler Kenan Pavilion decorated in bunting and lined with the flags of each American state and territory, in the order they joined the Union, culminating in the flags of each of the branches of the armed services arranged around the entrance to the Pavilion.

Each guest will receive a small American flag and souvenir program as they enter the Pavilion while a choir sings patriotic songs composed or made popular during America’s Gilded Age. The interior of the Pavilion is decorated with an example of each of the 20 versions of the American flag that flew over the country during Henry Flagler’s lifetime, as the number of states in the Union grew from 24 to 48.

The current 50-star version of the flag is the last in the series of 21 flags and is located in the northeast corner of the Pavilion’s upper level. Henry Flagler’s private Railcar, No. 91, is decked out with red, white, and blue bunting.

The evening’s festivities begin with the arrival of the Town of Palm Beach Police Department color guard bearing the American Flag and the Flag of Florida. The Declaration of Independence is then read in its entirety, as a reminder of just how important it was to the Founding Fathers to carefully enumerate and justify their grievances against the King of England. After all, they risked not just loss of property, but death, if their bold gamble to make America independent failed.

After the reading of the Declaration of Independence those in attendance join in the Pledge of Allegiance, which was distributed to schools throughout the Nation as a promotion for the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. No celebration of Independence Day would be complete without singing The StarSpangled Banner, which was formally adopted as America’s national anthem in 1916.

The event culminates with ice cream and lemonade enjoyed on the Pavilion Terrace as guests enjoy the best view of the fantastic pyrotechnics show over Lake Worth that provides the dramatic conclusion to the evening’s celebration.

For Membership information, call the Museum at (561) 655-2833 ext. 48 or visit www.FlaglerMuseum.us