Lebo will be celebrating its quasquicentennial Thursday through Sunday with a parade, dance and ice cream social as part of its 125th birthday party.
Lebo turns 125 on Thursday. On Oct. 6, 1886, Lebo was incorporated as a city of the third class.
Lennis McCreary, chairperson of the Lebo Tourism Board, said they are hoping for a big turnout and good weather for the festivities.
“We are really excited about having this celebration,” she said. “We know there’s a lot going on this weekend, but we hope former Lebo residents will come back. It would be really neat to welcome them back.”
Just down the road, Admire is celebrating its 125th birthday.
“I don’t know the history but evidently the towns were settled about the same time,” McCreary said. “Had we known that perhaps we could have scheduled something together. But I don’t know if that would have worked since we each want to celebrate our towns.”
McCreary said the committee in charge of the party felt it was important to celebrate this milestone. While the planning wasn’t quite as extensive as the 100th birthday party in 1986, the quasquicentennial is a chance for Lebo residents to come together to celebrate.
The opening ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday at Lebo Baptist Church. The 2011 king and queen will be crowned and there will be a free ice cream social. Those in attendance will vote for the king and queen by making donations into jars with candidates’ names on it. The two individuals with the most money received are named king and queen, McCreary said.
With the Lebo High School football team on the road at Southern Coffey County, Friday evening’s activity will be karaoke night at Heidi Inn. There is no cover charge to attend. The party will go until around midnight so fans returning from the game can join in.
Saturday begins with a preschool/playschool breakfast, bake sale and coffee bar at the Senior Center starting at 9 a.m. There will also be demonstrations and displays at the Senior Center until 2:30 p.m.
“We have an old stone jail built in the 1800s,” McCreary said. “It’s normally not open but we’ll have it open so everyone that wants to can see it.”
A birthday parade will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. One parade highlight will be the marching band.
“We normally don’t have a marching band,” McCreary said, noting the annual Fourth of July parade does not include one. “The music teacher has combined the high school and junior high music players to form a marching band. That will be really fun.”
At 11:30 a.m. to noon and again from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m., Mary Florella Brown Buster will portray the life of Florella Brown Adair. Buster is the great-grandmother and a half-sister to abolitionist John Brown.
Party goers at 1 p.m. can choose from bingo at the American Legion or a BB gun turkey shoot downtown in front of the mural.
Saturday evening activities will be held at Belle’s Barn on West Broadway. Attendees can bring lawn chairs and coolers.
A vintage fashion show will kick things off at 5:30 p.m.
“The show will be clothes for past eras including things like old Lebo leather jackets and band uniforms.” McCreary said.
Contests and dance lessons start at 7 p.m. and a dance will be from 8 p.m. to midnight with music by Prairie Fire Band.
On Sunday, a community church service will be held at 10:30 a.m. at the Lebo United Methodist Church. A covered dish dinner will follow at noon at the church.
The event ends with the Walk through the Past at Lincoln Cemetery. Ida Wilson has been researching stones and will give a talk about the history, McCreary said.