Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday formally announced the state will be beginning this historic summer with an America 250 Alabama Celebration at the State Capitol next Thursday. During the event, the governor will officially unveil a massive, 250th edition of the U.S. flag that will hang between the columns of the Capitol this summer.

“We live in the greatest nation on this Earth, and it is only fitting Alabama pay tribute to this country we are proud to call home. I am excited to invite my fellow Alabamians to the Capitol for a salute to our nation and to kick off this historic summer,” said Ivey. “There is truly no better time to be an American and an Alabamian than right now.”

The event will be open to the public and is set to occur on the front steps of the State Capitol Thursday, May 21 at 11 a.m. ahead of Memorial Day weekend. Leading up to the program, guests will be able to enjoy the sounds of the 151st Army Band. The governor invited Pell City High School student and fellow Girls Stater Amelia Alverson, who went viral for her rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner,” to perform.

The program will feature a musical performance by Randy Owen of Alabama. At the close of the program, four F-35 fighter jets will roar over the State Capitol for an official flyover. 

The governor first announced the event Wednesday during a speech in Huntsville. There are no tickets required. Governor Ivey said she looks forward to America’s 250th birthday on July 4, 2026, and she “is thrilled to kick off this milestone summer with her fellow Alabamians,” Ivey’s press release concluded.

SPANISH FORT, Ala. (WKRG) — Beneath thousands of headstones, a life of service and sacrifice is honored at the Alabama State Veterans Cemetery in Spanish Fort.

“It is pretty profound the sense of pride in the work,” said cemetery director Joe Buschell.

“The beauty is just overwhelming, and there is so much honor here for our veterans for the community,” said Commissioner of Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs Jeff Newton. “It’s just a solemn place.”

Buschell accepted the Excellence in Veterans Cemetery Operations recognition, but he says it is a team effort.

“We’re going to do whatever it takes. When the day starts, our obligation is to honor that veteran and their family,” Buschell said.

The only state veterans cemetery in Alabama is the final resting place for almost 5,000 veterans and their spouses.

“They truly care for the veterans of the state of Alabama,” said Glenn Powers, Deputy Under Secretary of Cemetery Operations for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that sets the standards for all 124 state veterans cemeteries across the U.S. “They do exactly what we want them to do, what the American citizens want them to do, take care of our veterans, honor them in perpetuity.”

Established in 2013, the 130-acre property off Highway 225 has room to expand for generations to come.

“They gifted everybody at least a part of their life, said Buschell. “At this cemetery, we have at least a couple that gifted the whole thing, so that means a lot.”

A debt of gratitude that can never fully be repaid.