... America turns 250 on Saturday. But the celebration Americans will see isn't quite the one organizers spent the last decade planning.
For nearly 10 years, the bipartisan, congressionally chartered America250 envisioned a once-in-a-generation civic commemoration built around history, service and local communities.
One America250 planning document imagined transforming the tiny Badlands town of Medora, North Dakota -- population roughly 150 -- into a living museum recreating Theodore Roosevelt's frontier experience.
It hoped to draw 250,000 visitors for a nationally televised celebration on July 1 featuring A-list performers, immersive historical programming, a drone spectacular and, ultimately, the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library's grand opening.
Instead, the opening went on this week with President Donald Trump -- but without America250.
"The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library was one of America250's first signed partners and we have been supportive since before its groundbreaking," an America250 spokesperson told Playbook. "However, America250 is not participating in the opening ceremonies."
The spokesperson said America250 had hoped to support the opening if it received an additional $25 million in federal funding. That money never came. ...
Of the $150 million Congress appropriated for America's 250th festivities, organizers expected to receive roughly $100 million but have received just $25 million to date.
Into the void stepped Freedom250, the organization aligned with Trump's White House Task Force 250, which became a principal partner for the library opening. A similar story unfolded 1,600 miles away in Washington.
The Smithsonian Institution had spent years planning a monthlong Folklife Festival on the National Mall " an ambitious gathering that would have brought together traditions like Burning Man and Farm Aid alongside local and regional festivals from across the U.S. and its territories.
Instead, that space on the National Mall this month was used for Freedom250's Great American State Fair, forcing Smithsonian to take the festival nationwide, partnering with more than 40 existing festivals across the country. ...
