BLOOMINGTON) – Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton will offer his annual State of the City address Thursday, February 21 at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave.
Beginning at 7 p.m., the community convocation will feature live music, poetry, and a video montage of residents’ reflections to complement the mayor’s remarks. The public is invited to attend this free event, which will be televised on CATS (Channel 12) and streamed live here.
During his remarks, Hamilton will highlight the administration’s progress on key city initiatives, reflect on the assets and connections that place the city in a position of strength and leadership within the nation and the world, and propose strategies to tackle new and ongoing challenges.
“Bloomington is thriving because of our many hard-working, imaginative, and caring residents who have given of themselves and made good decisions over our first two centuries,” stated Hamilton. “I will take this opportunity to salute this community while renewing our shared commitment to work on behalf of the most vulnerable among us, to improve the quality of life for all.”
The Bloomington Common Council will call the meeting to order. Generation Jam, a group of beginning musicians comprising elementary school students and senior citizens led by music educator Nathan Dillon, will lead the audience in several singalongs. Dr. Emily Bobo will read a poem inspired by her writing students at Ivy Tech Community College-Bloomington, where she is a professor of English and department chair of Fine Arts & Humanities. Bobo is the author of several book series whose sales have generated funds for the Monroe County Community School Corporation’s reduced lunch program, among other charitable causes. The program will also include a video presentation featuring community faces and voices.
Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. The presentation will include American Sign Language interpretation for the hard of hearing.
