Beaufort County’s tricentennial begins with essays, music

Beaufort County’s fourth-grade students will kick off the county’s tricentennial celebration at a ceremony Wednesday morning in the Washington High School Performing Arts Center.

The event, which starts at 9:30 a.m., will feature winning essays by the students, who were asked to participate in an essay contest about the people, places, events or activities that have contributed to the history of the county for the past 300 years.

This is the first event of the county’s yearlong tricentennial celebration, according to Penny Sermons and Lloyd Ballance, co-chairmen of Beaufort County’s 300th Anniversary Committee.

“Since North Carolina history is part of the curriculum for fourth-graders, this is a great opportunity to educate our students about local history,” Sermons said in a press release announcing the event.

Keynote speakers for the celebration will be U.S. Sen. Richard Burr and Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton.

Other activities scheduled for the kick-off include the reading of a resolution marking the tricentennial and music by the Southside High School band and P.S. Jones Middle School show choir.

The event is free to the public.