One of the biggest towns at the Jersey Shore is celebrating a big birthday, and there's lots of celebrating planned!

Middletown marks its 350th Anniversary with a gala, parade, and time capsule ceremony, as well as a fundraising brick campaign.

Middletown 350th Anniversary
Middletownnj.org
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It will all benefit the Middletown Arts Center (MAC), which offers classes, camps, and a lot of great arts and culture-based events for residents.

The Anniversary Gala will be held at the MAC on Friday, June 20th, with dinner, dancing, prizes, and more. Attendees will also get to preview the time capsule that will be buried in Anniversary Plaza.

On Saturday, June 21st at 11 a.m. a parade will go through town, starting at Middletown High School North (63 Tindall Rd.) and ending at the Arts Center (36 Church St.). There will be entertainment, vendors, and activities at the MAC after the parade as well. There will be free parking available at the Middletown train station to accommodate the crowd.

Anniversary Plaza
The future site of Anniversary Plaza in Middletown (Google Maps)
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(Traffic note: The parade route will cross over - and therefore shut down - Rt. 35 and surrounding areas from the late morning through early afternoon, so that's definitely something to keep in mind if you travel through that area!) The parade is rain or shine.

After the parade, you'll want to head over to the lawn next to the MAC, which will be the site of Anniversary Plaza. A time capsule will be buried, and it will be surrounded by commemorative personalized bricks and benches.

The hope is to dig up the time capsule in 50 years.

The best part? There was a contest so local students could be included in the capsule. Middletown middle school and high school student were able to submit letters discussing what it's like to be a student in Middletown today, and what they think it will be like in 2064.

The school principals and other officials will select one winner from each grade in each school, and all the letters will be buried.

There will also be murals and posters presented by local students.

It will all be on display at the Middletown Arts Center on June 21st (rain date June 22nd). I love the concept of time capsules, and the whole celebration sounds like a lot of fun!

For everything about the Middletown 350th Anniversary Celebration, click HERE.

What would you put in a time capsule? Tell us in the comment section below!

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