Bluffton staging drone light show for America 250

BLUFFTON — The yearlong America 250 celebration in the village of Bluffton will feature a drone light show at around 9 p.m. on Friday over Harmon Field, 115 E. College Ave. The drone show will feature more than 125 synchronized LED-equipped unmanned vehicles, or drones, choreographed to create images, animations and messages in the night sky. Dan Basinger, one of the leaders of the America 250 in Bluffton steering committee, said it's similar to a fireworks show but more eco-friendly and much quieter. The images will center around patriotic American icons. Basinger said this is the first show of this type to be held in the region. The drone show will follow an antique car parade which wraps up the Festival of Wheels, an annual event sponsored by the Bluffton Lions Club. A variety of food trucks will be downtown during the car show, with some moving to the Harmon Field Stadium area for the after-dark entertainment. The exhibition will be viewed from the home-side stadium bleachers after the raising of the colors and the National Anthem. Parking will be limited and traffic controlled. The America 250 in Bluffton steering committee has been meeting regularly since July 2025 to create and put into place a number of monthly events for 2026. Basinger said his counterpart Pat Rodabaugh, a retired teacher, spearheaded the initiative and invited representatives of clubs and organizations throughout the village to participate. "Pat's vision was to have something every month," Basinger said. In some cases, the committee is creating a new event for that month, while in others, they are building onto an existing event already scheduled in Bluffton. The year kicked off with a colonial hymn sing in January. Basinger, who teaches music in Findlay City Schools and is choir director at Good Hope Lutheran Church in Arlington, researched hymns from the era of the country's founding, including the favorite hymns of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. In February, in conjunction with the Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce's Chocolate Walk, the steering committee worked with a Bluffton Elementary School teacher to have students create collages depicting the Liberty Bell. The collages were then displayed on easels during an exhibition. March activities included an edible art 13 Colonies Cake Auction at the Bluffton Public Library and a trivia night at Southgate Lanes. Basinger said funds from an auction of the decorated cakes, along with other funds raised during the yearlong celebration, are being donated to the Bluffton Historical Society, which is working on creating a new museum. However, the majority of the activities throughout the year are free to attend. An intergenerational Colonial Games and Activities Day was held at the Bluffton Senior Citizens Center in April, featuring games played during the era, like checkers, marbles, jacks and whist (a card game). In May, to coincide with the village's Memorial Day parade, a tree of remembrance honoring veterans past and present was unveiled. Community members could write messages in honor of living veterans or in memory of those no longer living. Basinger, for example, wrote the names of several family members on a message to be displayed on the tree. Several activities are taking place in July, most of them on Saturday, July 4. Food trucks will arrive after noon and there will be music in the gazebo in the yard of Bluffton Presbyterian Church with a program of "50 songs for 250", featuring songs from all eras of America's past. Exhibits on the church grounds will include military encampments from the Revolutionary Era and the Vietnam War. Visitors will be able to ask questions of the reenactors while viewing camp sites. A parade on Main Street starts at 4 p.m. with a community choir presenting a concert of patriotic music at 6 p.m. in the Presbyterian Church. On July 8, the Bluffton Historical Society will be participating in the Nationwide Simultaneous Public Reading of the Declaration of Independence. The event commemorates July 8, 1775, when Col. John Nixon first read the Declaration of Independence aloud on the steps of Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia. Later in July, visitors will have the opportunity to "step back in time for a day" while exploring activities on a rural family farm. The Bluffton Historical Society has an August event, and Bluffton also participates in National Night Out in August. On Sept. 26, the village will hold an apple pie baking contest. On Oct. 17, the Shannon Theatre will hold a free showing of the movie "Hamilton," and a chili cookoff will be held at Bluffton Middle School. ("Hamilton" is one of several free movies with an America 250 theme being shown at the Shannon Theatre throughout the year, including the musical "1776" on July 4.) November will include a school military recognition event and the chamber's Jingle Bell Stroll, in which junior high and high school students can enter a Yankee Doodle Christmas tree. On Thanksgiving weekend, at Bluffton's Blaze of Lights, the committee will raffle a quilt made by quilters from throughout the town. They are also staging the 1940s radio show "It's a Wonderful Life". December will conclude with a workshop on building colonial-era toys, followed by the village gathering to sing modern Christmas carols in front of the Presbyterian Church. Basinger said the goal of the festivities is simply to provide the town with monthly celebrations that offer a chance to gather. "We're trying not to be political at all," he said. He said the committee has worked to create activities that might appeal to individuals of different interests and across the age spectrum. Basinger, who turns 53 later this summer, recalled Bluffton being full of community activities, festivals and parades during his childhood. He recalled marching in the 1986 quasquicentennial (125th anniversary) parade celebrating the history of Bluffton's founding in 1861. Serving on the steering committee has given him a chance to brainstorm similar activities that might bring the village together. "I worried that civic-minded people aren't civic-minded any more — or, if we are, we're much more metropolitan," he said. By the end of the year, "I want kids to have the memories that I have of people promoting the town… We've got to keep it going," he said. More information about upcoming events available on the Facebook page "Bluffton, Ohio Celebrates".