Happy 100th birthday to Stockbridge — well, actually it’s 102.
The city was officially incorporated August 6, 1920. Plans were made in 2019 for a big centennial celebration on that very date of the anniversary, and Mayor Anthony Ford started immediately pumping it up with city staff and citizens all over town.
“Everybody was on board,” he said.
Then the pandemic hit, and those plans came to a screeching halt. Nothing was done in 2020 or 2021, but this year the celebration is a go. “We are playing catch-up now,” as Ford put it.
on August 7 at the city’s amphitheater.
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Had it been on the original date, it would have been on the lawn across East Atlanta Road from City Hall next to the fountain, site of a number of concerts over a decade or so with spectators in lawn chairs enjoying musical acts on a rented stage. With the two-year delay, the event can now convene in the city’s amphitheater that was completed last year and already has a full slate of events. In fact, the centennial is set for Sunday, August 7, because of a paid concert the previous night featuring Rick Springfield and Men at Work.
Atlanta’s own SOS Band will be performing at the centennial event, and Ford said it will be the final show for lead singer Mary Davis before her retirement. Another musical act on the schedule with even more of a local connection is 2 Broke Kings, made up of two founding members of Stockbridge-bred band Collective Soul.
The keynote speaker for the evening is Dr. Angela Farris Watkins, the granddaughter of another Stockbridge native, Dr. Martin Luther King Sr. Ford said her address will be about the King family’s legacy and how it is connected to Stockbridge, where the man known as Daddy King grew up and began his preaching ministry.
Admission to the centennial celebration is free, although a ticket is required. Go to the city’s website (cityofstockbridge.com) to find a link to the EventBrite page for tickets.
“We assume it will be max capacity and people will be sitting outside on the green space right next to the amphitheater and City Hall,” said Ford, noting that at the recent July 4 celebration many people did just that.
They started thumping the house at 10:45 this morning. They didn’t stop until 10:20 PM Sunday night. No one in the neighborhood supports this thing, nor do we want our franchise fees, insurance taxes or business taxes going to subsidize it.
I live just close enough to it that it’s cool, but just far enough that it’s not a nuisance. Really feel sorry for my neighbors on Lee and Bryant Streets.