CAMDEN — The Village of Camden celebrated its 200th birthday with a pet parade on Wednesday, July 4.
According to Bicentennial PR Committee Member Donna Cross, the pet parade was a way to tie Camden’s past with their present, as the village celebrated their centennial with a pet parade.
In addition to the parade, there was also cupcakes, self guided walking tours, merchandise for sale, and time capsule information.
“July 4, 1818 was the day the paperwork was actually filed – for Dover at that time – to actually be a town,” Cross explained. “That is why we are here to have a birthday party. The pet parade is in honor of the centennial celebration, when they had a pet parade that they actually had a zebra at.
“We are here to celebrate our history as well as our future. This is just a way for Camden to unite and be a community. We’re out here to celebrate the history of the town too.”
Bicentennial Chair Karen Moss added, “We have the big event in September, but there have been a lot of events throughout the year. Today, since it was the actual day the plat was drawn up for Camden, we wanted to have a birthday celebration”
She added, the self guided walking tour of Camden had a lot of work put into it. There are 40 stops on it, with history and Camden Archives.
The committee thanked all of its sponsors and helpers, including: Camden-Somers Township Fire Department, Ron’s Pizza, Mayor Lisa Moss, the Bicentennial Committee, Shannon and Jeff Steele, and many others.
While the Bicentennial Committee has been hosting events to celebrate throughout the year, their main celebration will be held on Saturday, Sept. 1. There will be period games, a speed spitting contest, three legged races, a cruise-in, an antique street fair, and entertainment throughout the day. The finale will be a performance by the US Air Force Band of Flight.
