MINEOLA, Texas — Editor's Note: The above video was published in July 2022 about the Lake Country Playhouse and Historic Select Theater in downtown Mineola.
This Saturday will be a big celebration for the city of Mineola as the town rings in its sesquicentennial anniversary, also known as the 150th birthday.
Founded in 1873, Mineola got its start when the railroad lines were built through East Texas. The train depot neighbors Mineola's historic downtown, which features restaurants, antique shops and the Lake Country Playhouse and Historic Select Theater.
This events include races, a parade, contests, music, food, shopping, balloons, and cars to celebrate 150 years.
Among the events will be a display of the contents of the recently dug-up Mineola High School 1998 time capsule in downtown Mineola by the senior class of 2023 on West Commerce Street.
At the time of its burial, the capsule was scheduled to be exhumed this year for the 100th anniversary of the Mineola Yellowjacket as the mascot of Mineola High School, and the 150th anniversary of the city, Owen Tiner, city of Mineola marketing and tourism director, said.
Tiner, a 1998 Mineola High School graduate, was a part of digging up the time capsule.
The 2023 Mineola graduating class is preparing another time capsule that will be placed underground after senior graduation rehearsal on Friday, May 26, 2023 in the same spot where the 1998 capsule once was. This project will be exhumed in 2048, Tiner said.
The display is a part of the Mineola Sesquicentennial Spring Fling celebration.
Events at the Spring Fling, hosted by the Meredith Foundation, include 1K, 5K and 10K races, disc golf, live music, a parade, beard and costume contests, car show and balloon glow.
The parade will be held on Broad Street at 11 a.m. Saturday, and visitors can stay for live music, food trucks, shopping, a beer garden, the sesquicentennial beard contest, a “fashion through the decades” contest and other surprises.
The races will be at the Mineola Nature Preserve and the Mineola 150 Year - Disc Golf Tournament will follow soon after.
Also a part of the festivities, the Mineola Country Club will host the Jorgie's Car and Bike Show from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. At the Mineola Civic Center, the Sesquicentennial Hot Air Balloon Glow will be held from 7 to 8 p.m.
For more information, visit the city of Mineola website HERE.