Durham plans yearlong celebration for 150th birthday

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- It will be a year of celebrations in Durham as we celebrate its 150th birthday.

One hundred fifty years later and the buildings are getting higher and the streets are getting wider. Durham is growing in every direction.

"I'm really excited about it. I think it's going to be awesome," Mayor Steve Schewel said.

Durham was incorporated on April 10, 1869, but city leaders plan to spend the next year celebrating the milestone.

For the next several months, a select group of Durham residents will coordinate the sesquicentennial celebrations.

"It will be focusing on the ideals of inclusiveness and shared prosperity. You all know we embrace diversity in Durham like no place else and that will certainly be the way that we conduct this," Schewel said.

The Durham Holiday Parade on Dec. 8 will be one of the first events to promote the city's 150th anniversary.

"I'm very very proud of Durham. It has just grown so fast and so well," former Mayor Sylvia Kerckhoff said.

But that's just the beginning. On April 13, there will be a community-wide celebration. Then there will be a closing event in November.

Throughout the year, city officials want you to submit your events so you can be a part of the city's history too. Click here to submit your event.

"We hope to have 150 really good quality events that will appeal to every resident of Durham," Discover Durham's Shelly Green said.

From tobacco to tech, Durham's sesquicentennial year is set to be one for the books.