250th birthday celebration will continue all year

W. TERRY SMITH

When Ed Roberson was growing up, Beaufort, N.C., “it was going backwards, losing residents to nearby Morehead City,” he recalled.

“But they reinvented themselves,” Roberson told the Tarboro Kiwanis Club on Tuesday night. “Now it’s probably the other way around.”

Roberson sees next year’s 250th Birthday Celebration as an opportunity for Tarboro to do the same.

“We are going to have a good year,” he said, “a year we can promote our town as a unique town in Eastern North Carolina.”

Roberson, a co-vice chairman of the Birthday Celebration Committee, went over many of the planned activities that begin Monday, Jan.18.

“That’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day,” he said. “MLK events will take place in the morning. This will take place in the afternoon.”

At 2 p.m., the Paperhand Puppet Intervention from Graham featuring giant puppets will lead a children’s parade through downtown Tarboro. Bluesman George Higgs of Speed will perform before a 3 p.m. ceremony.

“This is the kickoff event,” Roberson said. “We will plant a plaque in the sidewalk at the corner of Main and Church streets in front of Town Hall.”

The 24-inch by 24-inch brass and copper plaque will read:

“On September 20, 1999, as a result of Hurricane Floyd, two-thirds of Downtown Tarboro was under water. It was here at the edge of the floodwaters that President Bill Clinton and Governor Jim Hunt addressed the citizens of Tarboro and the national media. As a result of federal and state assistance, all structures damaged by Hurricane Floyd were either rebuilt or renovated.

“This marker was placed here January 18, 2010 by the Tarboro 250th Celebration Committee.”

Roberson said various organizations that have activities during 2010 are being asked to put a 250th spin on their events. We have asked them “to beef ’em up for the 250th,” he said.

There will be a birthday party during History Days on Saturday, Sept. 25 on the Town Common with a cake, lemonade in commemorative cups, music and speeches.

On the actual birthday, Nov. 30, a tree will be planted and time capsule buried on the Common.

Roberson said emphasis was being made of Tarboro being a Colonial town, the ninth oldest town in the state instead of the usual “historic Tarboro.”

“We were founded 16 years before the Declaration of Independence,” he said. “There are very few colonial towns.”

Roberson pointed out the town has put up banners on the street lights along Main Street, had front bumper tags made that read: “Tarboro, N.C., Celebrating 250 years, 1760-2010,” and are free to residents when they pay their vehicle taxes; and 1,000 copies of a commemorative calendar has been printed that the committee is selling for $10 each.

“We want people to look at this instead of an event but as a season,” Roberson said.

Ads have been planned for Our State magazine that will feature Tarboro in its August issue. Also, there will be an ad in the April issue of O, The Oprah Magazine.

“Why, you ask? Terrell County did it and instead of getting the usual 10 calls from potential visitors, it received 14,000 calls,” Roberson explained, noting it was women who planned family vacations.

The committee has received an Edgecombe Community Foundation grant for a booklet of Tarboro history for fourth-graders.

There is a Paint the Town art exhibit planned, sponsored by the Tarboro Arts Guild and Edgecombe County Cultural Arts Council in which artists are to paint town scenes. The winner’s work will be printed and sold like the posters at the Seafood Festival in Morehead City.

The Community Chorus concert Nov. 7 will be a multimedia production with a budget of $8,500 for music, video, and musicians.

Roberson said financial support had been overwhelming – $50,000 from private donations – “because people love Tarboro and want this to be successful.”

A sponsor board with the names of those that have contributed $500 or more will travel from event to event during the year-long celebration.

“We’ve received a lot of great ideas,” he said, “but manpower is scare. Money is easier to get than manpower.”

When Roberson finished his 30-minute presentation, Kiwanis President Wayne Boyette asked if the committee was still accepting money. The club gave the committee $1,000.

Roberson suggested those interested in the 250th Birthday plans go to the town Web site (http://www.tarboro-n.c.com) and click on the 250th Birthday icon.

Roberson, 60, is the son of Dr. Ed Roberson who was on town council for 28 years, including 14 years as mayor from 1961-75. The Tarboro senior center was named in his honor.

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