#Repeat150: City of Hickory celebrates Sesquicentennial Anniversary

The City of Hickory invites the community to #Repeat150 with a week of events to celebrate Hickory’s 150th anniversary.

January 3, 2020, marked the City of Hickory’s 150th anniversary. While the community celebrated this historic milestone with a birthday kickoff and an interesting lecture series by Patrick Daily with the Hickory Landmarks Society to revisit Hickory’s past, several 150th events were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now that the community can safely gather, the Sesquicentennial Committee and community partners are proud to present the following events:

SWINGIN’ UNDER THE STARS
Sunday, May 30 | Union Square | 6 p.m.
Presented by the Hickory Music Factory and sponsored by the City of Hickory. Dance the night away as the Hickory Jazz Orchestra performs classic 1940s era big band arrangements from the great American songbook.

SIDE/SHOW
Thursday, June 3 | Downtown Hickory | 5:30 p.m.
Presented by the Western Piedmont Symphony and sponsored by the City of Hickory. Experience live music in a unique performance format that features live musicians in non-traditional settings scattered throughout downtown.

SAILS ORIGINAL MUSIC SERIES
Friday, June 4 | The Sails on the Square | 6:30 p.m.
Hosted by the City of Hickory and coordinated by Bob Sinclair Music. Enjoy live, original music in the heart of Downtown Hickory. Stay tuned to the Sails Original Music Series Facebook page for band and event information.

ROCK THE BLOCK BASH
Saturday, June 5 | L.P. Frans Stadium | 5:30 p.m.
Sponsored by the SALT Block in partnership with the City of Hickory and Hickory Crawdads. Rock the stadium with a free outdoor concert by The Extraordinaires from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. SALT Block partners and 150th sponsors will be on-site starting at 5:30 p.m. Concessions will be available.

All current executive orders for COVID-19 safety protocols will be followed at events.

The public is also invited to view a special quilt crafted by the Catawba Valley Quilters Guild in honor of Hickory’s Sesquicentennial. Over the span of several months, 55 members of the guild contributed to its creation. The commemorative quilt was presented during the Hickory City Council meeting on April 6 and is now available for viewing at the Patrick Beaver Memorial Library. The quilt is made of 165 individually stitched quilt squares, including one large square in the center featuring the official 150th logo, as well as four squares surrounding it to represent historic places in the community - the Hickory Tavern, Maple Grove, Piedmont Wagon, and the Shuford building.

To help community members share their Hickory pride, City of Hickory and 150th anniversary apparel and merchandise are available for purchase online at www.MyHKYGear.com and at Custom Design Group’s retail store located at 391 10th Avenue Drive NE.

Special thanks to the City of Hickory’s official 150th anniversary sponsors: Pepsi Bottling Company and Mike Johnson’s Hickory Toyota.

For more information about Hickory’s history and 150th events, please visit www.HKY150.com.