A Special 250th Anniversary Independence Day Remembrance Event on July 4

This July 4 at noon, the Village Preservation and Improvement Society (VPIS) will host a community reading of our Nation’s founding documents inside the pre-revolutionary sanctuary of The Falls Church. VPIS has sponsored an Independence Day Remembrance event since its founding in 1885, read the Pulse post The Story Behind the Annual Falls Church Independence Day Remembrance, June 19, 2025.

This annual tradition will be supplemented on this special occasion—the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence—by new readings, music, a tree planting, and other special events. Please come out to join your voice with others as we recite aloud the founding words and ideals of our American democracy.

VPIS is grateful to The Falls Church for continuing to open its doors for this annual event, which began more than 30 years ago.  The Falls Church was constructed in the 1760s as part of the local Anglican parish, which counted George Washington and George Mason—the drafter of the 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights—as vestrymen. A history of the church can be found here. According to local history, the Declaration of Independence was read to local citizens from the steps of the south doors.

The readings are intended to celebrate the spirit of democratic government, equality, and liberty that define our constitutional order. Past readings have included selections from the Bill of Rights, Reconstruction Amendments, and Voting Rights Amendments, as well as speeches by Washington, Patrick Henry, Abraham Lincoln, and Frederick Douglass.

Participants have commented that they found the event inspiring and learned many new historical facts they were not aware of previously. They appreciated the host’s narration that provided context to the speeches and documents. They found the format where people take turns reading a paragraph kept their attention on the readings. Comments include “I learn something new each year that I come”, “We are so glad we came” and “I’ve never been to anything like this, it is wonderful!”

New readings will debut this year for the 250th anniversary. They will be followed by a reading of the Declaration of Independence on the steps of the historic church, which was how many Americans first heard the Declaration in 1776.  The readings are expected to take an hour.

Join us to celebrate American independence and what it represents—individual freedom, equality, and democracy—and to remember what it costs to keep.