IllumiNATION, the free four-night block party celebrating America’s birthday, has arrived, shutting down a major stretch of Arthur Ashe.
Why it matters:The New York Times put Richmond at the top of its list of places to visit for America’s 250th anniversary specifically because of this event.
State of play: The Virginia Museum of History & Culture’s festival runs Thursday to Sunday and will transform its 250-foot-long facade into a projection screen to tell a sweeping story of the U.S.
- Axios got a sneak peek of the 20-minute show, which moves through the American Revolution and the Civil War to Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech at the Lincoln Memorial and the Stonewall uprising.
- Using archival images, animation and music, it documents the fabric of the U.S. by showing Black, Indigenous and immigrant people at pivotal historic moments.
- And Richmond’s 2020 protests make an appearance before the show ends with a shot of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Followed by: Fireworks-like pyrotechnics that will be visible from the museum’s front lawn and Arthur Ashe…