# Freedom 250 - The Great American State Fair **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 29, 2026, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470 "2026-05-29T03:08:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/1 "2026-05-29T03:08:43Z")
I thought we could use a thread for this semiquincentennial event that should have been an exciting celebration. Given its inauspicious start with most of the musical talent withdrawing from the proceedings, I expect it will be a shitshow of massive proportions. Hence, putting the thread in the Pit. As far as I’ve seen, it’s not been widely advertised. If the debacle with the musicians is any indication, they don’t have the top people working on it. I’m really wondering if it is going to come off like the [Willy Wonka Chocolate Experience](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willy%27s_Chocolate_Experience) a few years ago in Scotland. If any Dopers in the area get to experience any of it, please let us know your thoughts. Here’s the website. The list of musical acts hasn’t been updated, of course. > **[Freedom 250 Announces First Round of Star-Studded Entertainment & Activations...](https://freedom250.org/news/first-round-of-star-studded-entertainment)** > > WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freedom 250 today announced the first wave of participants, performers, speakers, and featured activations for the \[Great American State Fair\](), the 16-day n... ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/2 "2026-05-29T03:15:52Z")
For reference, there is a Cafe Society thread on the musical acts which had committed to it, many of which backed out in the last day or so: > [@The lineup for the Trump-backed America250 Concert is a little sus](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lineup-for-the-trump-backed-america250-concert-is-a-little-sus/1030460/53): > > C+C is in. And, at this rate, this certainly appears that it will be a bad, MAGA-heavy Trump lovefest, which will be poorly attended…that is, if it isn’t suddenly called off entirely, with America-hating liberals being blamed. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/3 "2026-05-29T03:18:09Z")
In the meantime, we’ll have cagefights on the White House lawn, with a custom-built arena just for that purpose. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/4 "2026-05-29T04:50:35Z")
I read the schedule of events, and almost every one set off my Christofascometer. If anyone else looks at it, please share your thoughts. I can admit I approached it with very biased eyes and may be reading into things that aren’t there. Depressing is what it is. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/5 "2026-05-29T05:03:36Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > For reference, there is a Cafe Society thread on the musical acts which had committed to it, many of which backed out in the last day or so: I don’t think they did. Many were surprised to hear they were announced as performers because nobody asked them, others had been lied to about what the event was in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/6 "2026-05-29T05:15:38Z")
Good time for another “No Kings” event all across the country. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/7 "2026-05-29T06:15:15Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > I read the schedule of events, and almost every one set off my Christofascometer. If anyone else looks at it, please share your thoughts. I can admit I approached it with very biased eyes and may be reading into things that aren’t there. Seriously skeevy. [Detailed Wiki article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Semiquincentennial) on how Trump’s “Freedom 250” self-promotion machine has shouldered aside the original nonpartisan Congressional “America 250” foundation, and the resulting Trumpian circus. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/8 "2026-05-29T09:12:45Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > And, at this rate, this certainly appears that it will be a bad, MAGA-heavy Trump lovefest, which will be poorly attended I would love it if progressives put on their own show and it went over bigly, mirror image of the TPUSA Superbowl LX halftime show. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/9 "2026-05-29T11:39:40Z")
People here are complaining about the 250th celebration by comparing it to the bicentennlal, but they don’t appear to realize what a debcle the bicentennial was. The bicentennial committee spent a lot of time arguing about ,and designing the logo, and detailing exactly what it was to be. They never got around o putting together a Bicentennial Fair, like the CEntennial Fair in 1876 that celebrated our first 100 years. And a lot of people clearly wanted to > **[Centennial Exposition](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centennial_Exposition)** > > The Centennial International Exhibition, officially the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876. It was the first official world's fair to be held in the United States and coincided with the centennial anniversary of the Declaration of Independence's adoption in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776. > It was held in Fairmount Park along the Schuylkill River on fairgrounds designed by Herm... There were recreations of events, but there were two different groups doing this – the merican REvolution Bicentennial Committee (ARBC) and the People’s Bicentennial Committee (PBC). The ARBC was more official, and its members were mainly Old White Guys. The PBC were radical upstarts who looked the part (they were younger and angrier). The ARBC celebrated the Boston Tea Party by tossing wooden boxes into Boston Harbor. The PBC celebrated it by tossing oil drums into the harbor. It was that kind of thing. There were a lot of arguably ood things that cam out of it. The “Bicentennial Minutes” on TV were cool. These were little one minute “commercials” that pointed out some historical detail that happened on that date 200 years previously, and gave you not only a mini-history lesson but also gave you a sense of how long it took for things to happen. The Tall Ships going to various harbors was a nice spectacle. There were various expositions in big cities. But there wasn’t any big single celebration like the CEntennial Fair to crystallize it. There were various parades and TV specials and special bicentennial quarters, but I felt we were left hanging, without a bi event > **[United States Bicentennial](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Bicentennial)** > > The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic. It was a central event in the memory of the American Revolution. The Bicentennial culminated on Sunday, July 4, 1976, with the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Founding Fathers in the Second Continental Congress. > The United States has histori... ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/10 "2026-05-29T11:44:55Z")
Actually, my favorite artifacts from the bicentennial were the special “July 4 1776” mockup issue of **Time** Magazine with a red-haired Thomas Jefferson on the cover and the special bicentennial issue of **Madde** magazine, with a revolutionary Alfred E. Newman [https://www.ebay.com/itm/298060680223](https://www.ebay.com/itm/298060680223) [https://www.ebay.com/itm/306823721659](https://www.ebay.com/itm/306823721659) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/11 "2026-05-29T12:27:07Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The Tall Ships going to various harbors was a nice spectacle. That’s the one thing I remember (I was six - saw them pass under the George Washington Bridge, from near the Little Red Schoolhouse). It was cool in part because it was unique. Who needs another fair, or Ferris Wheel, or parade? This was a weird event (not an obvious choice, yet it expressed a sense of history, and logistically could be enjoyed by many without huge cost), that will always be associated with the Bicentennial. Brilliant idea, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/12 "2026-05-29T12:55:25Z")
We had Bicentennial quarters and dammit we liked it! ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/13 "2026-05-29T12:59:08Z")
I was two months old for the bicentennial and expect to be dead for the tricentennial. I hate, _hate_ that the one time I get to experience a big national anniversary, it has Trump’s fingerprints all over it. (I was thinking I might go to the Great American State Fair anyway, but leaning toward “not” if it’s going to be a Trump-fest.) ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/14 "2026-05-29T13:02:02Z")
This time, you’ll get $250 bills with his face on it. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/15 "2026-05-29T13:12:04Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > We had Bicentennial quarters and half dollars and dollar coins. > [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > I was two months old for the bicentennial and expect to be dead for the tricentennial. I hate, _hate_ that the one time I get to experience a big national anniversary, it has Trump’s fingerprints all over it. When we celebrated the Bicentennial, we had just gotten rid of our corrupt president. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/16 "2026-05-29T14:23:15Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > We had Bicentennial quarters and dammit we liked it! And to this day people are finding them and thinking that thev’ve struck it rich. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/17 "2026-05-29T14:25:46Z")
I fear that if liberals put together an “alternative” lineup just to rub it in MAGA’s face over the State Fair musical lineup debacle, it, too, will be poorly attended. From where I sit, the entire 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence is a giant, nationwide nothingburger. No one seems to care at all. Also, we’re all adults here; let’s not try to show each other up just because we can. I’m also quite a bit salty about whatever attempts are being made to tie the 2026 FIFA World Cup to the 250th anniversary. For one thing, Canada and Mexico are involved, too – did we forget that? And secondly, I doubt the decision to award it to North America had anything to do with the semiq… the senquinc… the 250th thing. The World Cup is every four years; it just so happens that 2026 is a World Cup year. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/18 "2026-05-29T14:41:53Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > From where I sit, the entire 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence is a giant, nationwide nothingburger. No one seems to care at all. The US did not celebrate its 50th birthday. And while there was an attempt to celebrate the 150th, it was a massive flop much like this one is looking to be. > **[Sesquicentennial Exposition](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sesquicentennial_Exposition)** > > The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition of 1926 was a world's fair in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its purpose was to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the 50th anniversary of the 1876 Centennial Exposition. > In 1916, the idea for a Sesquicentennial Exposition stemmed from the mind of John Wanamaker, who was the only living member of the Centennial Exposition's Finance Committee. At the time Philadelphia was a booming ci... > The fair drew a much smaller crowd than anticipated (about 10 million people). _Variety_ dubbed it “America’s Greatest Flop” with a loss of $20 million by August 1926. The exposition ended up unable to cover its debts and was placed into receivership in 1927, at which point its assets were sold at auction. I’ll also point out that the 150th birthday celebration was a local Philadelphia thing, and wasn’t a national effort sponsored by the federal government. This is 100% a Trump thing, not some organic and normal celebration that the nation would be expected to have or that anyone gives a shit about. If the country lasts long enough for a 300th birthday, there might be an expectation to celebrate that, but 250 years is not any kind of widely-recognized landmark. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/19 "2026-05-29T14:54:53Z")
And don’t forget the Bicentennial Freedom Train, which was a traveling museum of sorts. I remember the family going to this on the stop at the St Louis riverfront when I was a teen. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/20 "2026-05-29T14:56:44Z")
Musical ‘Talent’? People I avoided 35 years ago? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470.md?page=2)