Plymouth 400 hosts Community Meetings to give the public an opportunity to learn about what our organization is working on, what the goals are for the 2020 commemoration, and how YOU can get involved!
Here are five things shared by Executive Director Michele Pecoraro at this week’s Community Meeting, hosted by Quincy College:
1. Plymouth 400 will celebrate reaching 1,500 commemorative license plates sold (and now seeing them on the road!) by hosting a License Plate Tail Gate and group photo on Saturday, January 30, 2016 from 1—3pm at 134 Court Street in Plymouth (for those who purchased a plate). Attendees can enjoy a traditional New England-style cookout and pizza, provided by Plymouth 400 Founding Partners Fire It Up Pizza and Wicked Smokin’ BBQ, and we’ll be taking a #MyPlymouthPlate group photo, so grab your Plymouth plate and smile for the camera!
2.One question asked via Twitter was, “What local businesses have really stepped up to the plate?” To which we responded that ALL of our Founding Business Partners really stepped up to the plate, as well as our first Signature Sponsors to come on board, Plymouth Industrial Development Corporation, Shields Design Studio, and Gatehouse Media! Our Founding Partners and Signature Sponsors are hugely important to us, as they’ve helped us with producing our Pre-Commemoration Events, marketing and branding, and securing the Plymouth 400 van (special thanks to BEST Dodge Jeep Ram, Shields Design Studio, and Brenner Signs and Awnings)… just to name a few of our Partners’ many contributions!
I’m having Korean from KOGI. Any snacks there? 3. What local business has really stepped up to the plate? #AskPlymouth400
— Frank Mand (@frankmandOCM) January 20, 2016
3. What’s the funding status? Current funding sources include our Partner Program, through which Businesses and Organizations pledge monetary and in-kind support to the organization in return for exposure on our website and at Pre-Commemoration Events and Programs; the Town of Plymouth and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, both of which see the Plymouth 400 Commemoration as an economic development driver; and our Signature Sponsorships. Currently, a State Commission is being formed to help secure additional State and corporate funding which will then allow us to move forward in our petition for a Federal Commission.
4. One attendee asked if we were planning a Mayflower sail in 2020. Plimoth Plantation’s Mayflower II is currently undergoing extensive renovations (you can see her status on Plimoth Plantation’s website here) and will not likely travel in 2020, as we want her here in Plymouth so the estimated 7 million visitors in town for the year-long commemoration will be able to see her! There are two Mayflower projects currently underway in the UK; Plymouth University is creating the Mayflower Autonomous Research Ship, an unmanned, solar-powered vessel which will recreate the famous Mayflower journey of 1620. The Harwich Mayflower Project aims to create a Mayflower replica to be sailed to different European ports of significance to the Pilgrim story.
5. UK Update: Our United Kingdom partners, Mayflower 400, hosted their Illuminate event on November 26th in Plymouth, UK and we’re working closely to expand Illuminate so that it takes place all over the world by 2020! British Parliament recently committed £500,000 to Mayflower 400 and its partners for programming, and additional funds have been allocated for arts, culture and infrastructural improvements in the Southwest Region for the 2020 commemoration, which is being treated as an economic development and tourism driver.
We’ll continue to host #AskPlymouth400 Community Meetings monthly at different locations in Plymouth, so stay tuned for the February date and time! If your business or organization would like to host a Community Meeting, please reach out to Sheila at sfey@plymouth400inc.org.
