A Yearlong Celebration: the Semiquincentennial America’s 250th anniversary in 2026 will be nothing short of epic. In Philadelphia, the 52 Weeks of Firsts will spotlight city-defining moments — from the first American flag to the first ice cream soda. The annual Wawa Welcome America Festival (June 19–July 4, 2026) turns the city into a weeks-long playground of music and family fun — including one of the biggest Fourth of July celebrations in the nation. Visit the 1790s First Bank of the United States , reopening as a museum this year after an extensive renovation. Permanent exhibits on the nation’s economic history will include "People, Power, Profit in the Early Republic" and touch on topics such as currency, slavery, land, and trade. In the fall, (Nov. 18–19, 2026), Gettysburg will host a stirring recreation of Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 visit, when he delivered the Gettysburg Address. The first words of his speech were “Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” That line is a direct nod to the birth of our nation in 1776 and what our founding fathers set forth to be. Soldiers’ National Cemetery, Gettysburg 12 visitpa.com JON GOELLNITZ
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Travel Guide 2026: Page 12
