By Lee Weyhrich
PINSON — Pinson is coming up on its 200th birthday, but there’s some confusion over who will throw the party.
Mayor Hoyt Sanders suggested combining the bicentennial celebration, Pinson City Fest and the grand opening of the new city park into one huge event in mid-May 2015 rather than doing a string of individual events in a short period. Unbeknownst to most Pinson City Council members, the Pinson Historical Society had already begun planning the bicentennial event for April 11.
The Pinson community is among the oldest in Alabama, actually predating the founding of the state by four years. According to Pinson Historical Society’s Steven Baird, Pinson will be the first community in the state to ever celebrate 200 years, and other communities as well as the Alabama Bicentennial Commission are looking to Pinson to set the example.
The time frame confusion seems to have come from a meeting between the Enhancement Committee and the Pinson Historical Society on Sept. 15. According to Pinson City Councilman John Churchwell, the Enhancement Committee said there were no plans for City Fest nor a bicentennial celebration, and any planning of such an event would need to be handled by the Pinson Historical Society.
Pinson Historical Society members began planning for April 11 after the meeting. By Sept. 18 they had already booked musicians, organized re-enactments, scheduled crafters and vendors, looked into carnival rides, and found people to give presentations.
The society was planning to hold the event at the Old Rock School, Triangle Park and the Mission Possible parking lot.
The Pinson City Council and the Pinson Historical Society have scheduled a work session for Thursday, Oct. 30 to discuss plans and alternatives.