Dr. Curt Fields will once again be portraying U.S. Grant for the annual Grant Days celebration in Georgetown set for April 20 and 22. Above, Fields is shown as U.S. Grant during last year’s Grant Days. Photo by Wade Linville
A fireworks show at the Courthouse Square in Georgetown is once again being planned for the annual Grant Days celebration. Above is a photo of last year’s fireworks show for U.S. Grant’s 200th birthday celebration. Photo by Wade Linville.
The 2023 U.S. Grant Days celebration in Georgetown is set for April 20 and 22.
Grant Days will kick off April 20 with Dr. Ned Lodwick’s presentation of “Grant’s World Tour” to start at 7:30 p.m. at the Georgetown United Methodist Church Hall in Georgetown.
The Grant Days celebration continues at 10 a.m. on April 22 with the Grant Homestead (219 E. Grant Ave.) and the Grant School open for tours. There will also be docents at other Civil War sites in Georgetown.
The celebration moves to the Gaslight Theater at 1 p.m. on April 22 for Civil War period music played by the Pedigos of Ripley.
The presentation of “An Afternoon with Gen. Grant” will begin at 2 p.m. at the Gaslight Theater on April 22 with Dr. Curt Fields portraying U.S. Grant and Dennis Boggs portraying President Lincoln.
The celebration moves to the Courthouse Square in Georgetown at 7:30 p.m. on April 22 for Celtic music by the Pedigos, followed by an appearance from Grant and Lincoln (portrayed by Fields and Boggs).
The celebration will end with a fireworks show at the Courthouse Square around 8:45 p.m. on April 22.
Last year, Georgetown celebrated the 200th birthday of U.S. Grant, commanding general of the Union Army during the American Civil War who became the 18th president of the United States (1869-1877).
Grant’s boyhood home is located in Georgetown.
During Grant’s presidency, he managed to stabilize the post-war national economy, support Congressional Reconstruction and the ratification of the 15th Amendment, and vanquished the Ku Klux Klan.
President Grant appointed African Americans and Jewish Americans to prominent federal offices. In 1871, Grant created the first Civil Service Commission, advancing the civil service more than any prior president.
Grant Day events are free to the public.
There will also be a Grant Birthday celebration on April 29 at Grant’s birthplace in Point Pleasant, OH from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Making Grant Days possible in Georgetown each year is the U.S. Grant Homestead Association.
For more information, visit www.usgrantboyhoodhome.org.