Massachusetts 250 commission members and program partners met at Mass MoCA in North Adams to review statewide programming plans, logistics for Knox Trail reenactments in January 2026 and fundraising needs, including a roughly $100,000 shortfall for planned events.

The meeting brought updates from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, the Revolution 250 organizing team and Convengers, which is coordinating Knox Trail logistics. Sheila Green of the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism told commissioners the campaign website lists “over 500 events and over 250 attractions” and promoted a recurring virtual “Massachusetts 250” lunch-and-learn series. She also described three items the commission was asked to consider: participating in a National American Potluck on July 5, 2026; coordinating a statewide reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 8 (the date of the original public reading); and deciding whether Massachusetts will contribute material to a national time capsule.

The commission heard a broader events update from Jonathan White of Revolution 250, who said planning is “hyper focused now on all of the Knox Trail events” and described local meetings in the Berkshires for a January 10 route that will involve Alford, Blandford, Egremont, Monterey, Otis, Russell and Sandersfield. White noted some towns are planning their own related events in January 2026 and that several communities are considering a Declaration reading on July 18, 2026, the date the document arrived in Massachusetts.

Dusty Mills of Convengers presented logistics for the Knox Trail reenactment and related materials: horses have been secured through a Duxbury stable, an 8½-minute explanatory video has been prepared, and organizers are developing marker plaques for multiple sites. Mills said planners have obtained “a grant for the Knox and Evacuation Day” but are still pursuing additional private and corporate fundraising. “We need to find about another 100,000 to do things the way we want them to be done,” Mills said.

Commissioners raised local coordination issues. Paul Findlay asked how Cambridge would be represented on the Knox Trail materials; organizers acknowledged an early slide mistakenly listed Memorial Hall as a location and said they would amend graphics and follow up by email. A commissioner representing Cambridge asked that organizers not use Memorial Hall (which the speaker said is owned by Harvard and commemorates those who died in the Civil War) as the Cambridge site and offered assistance from the Cambridge Historical Commission.

The meeting also flagged a preservation concern: organizers said Sandersfield is currently the only town along the Knox Trail without a Knox marker and that local advocates are seeking recognition and marker placement. White described work underway to identify sections of roadway still in 1775 condition and local efforts to seek preservation at the national level.

No formal votes were recorded during the meeting. Commissioners were asked to brainstorm time-capsule entries, local potluck participation and other community-level activities ahead of the next meeting, which members said they expect to hold in roughly six weeks. Organizers said they will circulate updated presentation materials and follow up by email with local committees.

Background: the Massachusetts 250 campaign includes museum outreach (a “Museums 250” sticker program), a public events calendar maintained by the Office of Travel and Tourism, reenactments and town-level commemorations tied to the Knox Trail and other 2026 anniversaries. Several communities and cultural institutions are coordinating schedules for January 2026 reenactments and for July 2026 commemorations that mark arrival or readings of the Declaration of Independence in the state.

For commissioners: the key near-term tasks are (1) confirm whether the commission will participate in the National American Potluck and the July 8 Declaration reading; (2) submit ideas for the national time capsule if Massachusetts participates; (3) review and confirm local site designations (Cambridge, Arlington and others) and plaque text; and (4) support continued fundraising to close the stated $100,000 gap for the planned July 4/Knox Trail events.