ARCC SUPERVISOR DAVID ECKERT has dubbed 2026 as the “Year of 50s”. “1976 must have been a year when something was in the water,” he said. Arts in the Park, Storybook Land, and the Aberdeen Recreation and Cultural Center all turn 50 years old in 2026. Those aren’t the only anniversaries worth celebrating—Northern State University will be celebrating 125 years, and our country turns 250.
Eckert said that there will be year-round celebrations to honor these anniversaries. City events are still being planned, but many of them coincide with the Dacotah Prairie Museum’s festivities. The museum, in collaboration with the America’s 250th South Dakota Commission, will be hosting the following activities:
Time Capsule Reveal and Ice Cream Social:
- A 1976 community time capsule will be exhumed at Melgaard Park, followed by an ice cream social hosted by the City Parks Department and Dacotah Prairie Museum. Items will be evaluated before transfer to the museum. Original contributors and Zonta members are invited, with public notices for item retrieval.
Spirit of ‘76 Community Parade and Costume Contest
- A parade the morning of July 4 will be held in downtown Aberdeen. Participants can register at the museum prior to the parade, and those dressed in costumes from 1776, 1876, and 1976 have a chance to win prizes. Everyone is welcome to participate, including pets.
Constitution Day and History Talks
- The museum will display at Northern State University History Department’s annual event on September 17 in the student center. Through the month of September, the museum will also hold a series of history talks in collaboration with South Dakota Humanities and NSU.
South Dakota celebrating 250 years of America.
There will also be exhibits at the museum to celebrate. “Celebrate USA 250” is an in-house exhibit depicting Americana and patriotic themed 3D artifacts, World War I and II posters, uniforms, artwork, and archival materials from the museum’s permanent collection. “Freedom: A History of US” and “The Road to Equality” is a two-part banner exhibition that covers the evolution of freedom as a concept from the founding era to the Civil Rights movement. The items from the time capsule will be displayed at the museum in their “Zonta’s 1976 Time Capsule” exhibit.
The residents of Aberdeen are no strangers to celebrating milestone anniversaries. For Aberdeen’s centennial, a parade showcasing different decades in history was held. Photos courtesy of the Aberdeen Area Genealogical Society.
Festivities aren’t just limited to the Aberdeen area. Aberdeen Central High School’s marching band will be traveling to Washington, D.C. to march in their July 4 parade.
This won’t be the first year of significant celebrations for Aberdeen. In 1976, Aberdeen celebrated the country’s bicentennial, 1981 saw Aberdeen’s own centennial, and 2006 was quasquicentennial—125 years.
“I graduated from high school in ’76 and I remember even in my small town of Winner we had a bicentennial celebration,” Eckert said. “As a matter of fact, my graduating class had red, white, and blue tassels on our caps.”
Dacotah Prairie Museum Director Patricia Kendall also remembered the festivities in 1976. “The draw for me was how unified it was,” she said. “It reminded me how fun a communal experience was where everyone knew about it and participated.”
Many of these celebrations featured parades and other community events. Eckert said that many of Aberdeen’s well-established events coincided with landmark anniversary years. Arts in the Park was first held in 1976, and the Youth Heritage Arts Festival was first held in 1981. From there the festival evolved into the oz Festival, and eventually became the Storybook Land Festival.
“The significance and momentum of the bicentennial in ’76 continued through today,” Eckert said. “People had the mindset of ‘Let’s get things going’.” //
- For more information, visit america250.org.
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