Albany celebrates centennial this weekend
The Veteran’s Memorial Building in Albany. Photo by Linjun Fan.
The City of Albany will celebrate its centennial with various activities at the Veteran’s Memorial Building Saturday.
There will be swing dancing and live music in the auditorium of the building from 1 pm to 5 pm. There will also be exhibition of Albany’s historical pictures, Bingo games, and kid’s games at the celebration.
Albany Mayor Robert Lieber, who will make a speech at the event, invited all residents of the city to join the celebration at a recent council meeting.
Councilmember Jewel Okawachi, who has lived in Albany for almost 80 years, will also share her stories about Albany’s history with audience from the community.
Albany became an independent city in the year of 1908, after its residents protested against the City of Berkeley for dumping garbage in their neighborhood, according to several history books. The city was first named Ocean View, which was later changed into Albany, after the name of the hometown of the city’s first mayor.
The city will hold a series of activities in the upcoming months to celebrate its 100th birthday.
A five-tier birthday cake will be cut and shared among all participants at Saturday’s celebration.
“Come in and have some snack, play a little bingo, drop the kids’ off in the kids’ room, have a couple of games, and talk to your neighbors, ” said Penelope Leach, director of Albany’s Recreation and Community Services Department.
Leach is somewhat worried that the weather will affect attendance, though. It will be raining on Saturday, according to weather report.
*The Veteran’s Memorial Building is located at 1325 Portland Ave., Albany.
The Albany Historical Society will be showing historical photos and will have copies of Images of America, Albany for sale during this event. Please come by the women’s club room and learn about and join the historical society. There will also be an opportunity to write your memories of “My Albany”. The Albany Chamber of Commerce will be selling their new Centennial T-shirts and will have information and order forms for their historic banner sponsorship program available for your convenience.
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