Yorktown joins nationwide reading of the Declaration of Independence on Wednesday

YORKTOWN – Yorktown will commemorate American independence by participating in “Sharing the Spirit of America,” a simultaneous reading of the Declaration of Independence happening across the U.S. and abroad at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 8.

In recognition of the Declaration’s first public reading – which occurred on July 8, 1776 – readings will commence across all 50 states, each of the five U.S. territories and countries including Antarctica, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Brazil, Australia, Italy, England, France, Panama, Morocco, South Korea, Guatemala and Austria. 

The worldwide initiative was spearheaded by the Hawaii chapter of the America250 Commission, a nonprofit organization dedicated to celebrating America’s Semiquincentennial.

Public readings will be held concurrently at state capitols, city halls, county buildings, schools, libraries, community centers, parks and other public places of gathering, coordinated by time zone.

“Unlike the extent of the Colonies in 1776, today, America spans about 9,500 miles from one extreme to the other,” a VA250 Commission release explains. “Even though the United States is spread across thousands of miles and ten different time zones, all of us in America may read the Declaration of Independence ‘together’, at the ‘same’ time.”

In Yorktown, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Tracen Ceremonial Band and the USCG Tracen Volunteer Drill Team will perform at the Victory Monument from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., with an interlude at 6 p.m. for the reading. 

A life-size copy of the Declaration of Independence will be on display, and attendees will have the opportunity to add their own signature.

Guests are encouraged to bring a lawn chair. The event is free and open to the public.