By Dakota Antelman — Dakota@concordbridge.org
Marking the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution will cost money.
In a recent interview, Concord250 Executive Committee co-chair Robert Munro said, “The money has to come from somewhere.”
Concord250 budget documents showed organizers had just under $1.39 million for their projects as of November 4.
- Almost half the money came from an American Rescue Plan Act allocation.
- The state chipped in just over $250,000.
- Town Meeting approved $475,000 in spending through free cash and the Community Preservation Committee for public safety and tree planting efforts around the 250th anniversary.
- The Concord250 Corp. has contributed $24,600.
- The Concord250 Executive Committee recently announced its own fundraising effort and had raised another $8,726 as of November 4.
Planned celebrations on April 19 will start with Concord’s traditional Dawn Salute and continue with a parade. The day will end with a drone show.
The Executive Committee is budgeting $725,000 for public safety costs and $130,000 for various events and programs. The drone show is budgeted at $45,000, according to Munro.
Slotted as a separate line item in the Executive Committee’s budget, the parade price tag comes in at $120,000. Budget documents indicate the town plans to split the cost for the parade with the Executive Committee by adding a $60,000 allocation in its 2025 Fiscal Year budget.
