Centennial of Indy in 1920, Bicentennial era in 2020-21

<p dir="ltr">(January 4, 2020) With our first show of the new year, Hoosier History Live looks both backward and forward.</p> <p dir="ltr">That's because our focus is not only on how the <strong>city of Indianapolis</strong> celebrated its 100th birthday in 1920, but also on how the Hoosier capital plans to salute its bicentennial jubilee, which kicks off in June. We also explore what happened in 1971, when Indy threw a year-long sesquicentennial (or 150th) birthday celebration.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src= "http://hoosierhistorylive.org/images/Jeff-Bennett-2019.PNG" alt= "Jeff Bennett" width="194" height="285" align="right" />Nelson's studio guest is <strong>Deputy Mayor Jeff Bennett</strong> of Indianapolis, who is a key figure in planning the upcoming events. The <strong><a href= "https://www.indy.gov/activity/indianapolis-bicentennial-commission">Indianapolis Bicentennial Commission</a></strong> is co-chaired by two former mayors, <strong>Greg Ballard </strong>and <strong>Bart Peterson</strong>.</p> <p dir="ltr">In June 1920, an "Indianapolis Centennial Pageant" at the <strong>Coliseum</strong> on the <strong><a href="https://www.indianastatefair.com/fairgrounds/">Indiana State Fairgrounds</a></strong> consisted of seven "episodes,"  or acts, with titles such as "Coming of the Pioneers" and "Selecting a Site," according to booklets and other memorabilia distributed then. </p> <p dir="ltr">Reenactors portrayed such historic characters as early settlers <strong><a href= "https://www.jstor.org/stable/27786227?seq=1">John McCormick</a></strong> and <strong><a href= "https://weeklyview.net/2018/10/25/george-pogue-and-why-he-matters-part-1-2/">George Pogue</a></strong>; Indiana's first governor, <strong><a href= "https://www.in.gov/history/2461.htm">Jonathan Jennings</a></strong>; surveyor <strong><a href= "https://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/alexander-ralston-plan-indianapolis/">Alexander Ralston</a></strong>, who planned the city, and <strong><a href= "https://historicindianapolis.com/indianapolis