A year-long slate of activities celebrating Mount Airy’s 125th birthday has been announced by a special committee that includes representatives of every major organization in the city.

Mount Airy reached the milestone last week, with Mayor Deborah Cochran reading a proclamation officially recognizing the anniversary of its incorporation on Feb. 25, 1885.

But that was only the beginning of the celebration, for which at least one activity has been planned during every month for the remainder of 2010.

The highlight of the year will be a city birthday party in July, according to Julie Teague, a member of the 125th Birthday Committee. This will include a cake on the front lawn of the Municipal Building, with the observance to be held in conjunction with local Fourth of July activities.

“We think we can celebrate the country’s birthday with the city’s birthday,” said Teague, who is a member of both the Downtown Business Association and Downtown Mount Airy Inc.

Those groups are represented on the birthday committee along with the city government, Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce, Surry Arts Council, Gilmer-Smith Foundation, Mount Airy Museum of Regional History and Mount Airy Public Library.

“We started working on this back in the summer,” Teague said.

Many of the year’s activities will be “piggy-backed” with regularly scheduled events, and Teague explained that this is being done for multiple reasons.

“It was kind of, ‘let’s not reinvent the wheel, there’s so many things going on,’” she said of committee members’ reasoning.

There is a financial consideration as well. “We’re working with zero dollars,” Teague added. “What we’re doing is kind of going in with all the other events.”

This month, for example, the birthday celebration theme is being incorporated into a workshop at the museum, with wedding customs and history also to be included in a bridal fair involving downtown businesses.

In April, Mount Airy Public Library will host an essay contest in local schools using the city celebration theme. Also, the museum will be the site of a “lunch-n-learn” session incorporating the city celebration theme.

The new Bud Break Festival on May 1 will coincide with city celebration historical walking tours being offered for residents and visitors and the National Travel and Tourism Week observance from May 8-16.

During June, the arts council will merge the city celebration theme into its annual Arts Alive program. Plans also call for meshing the city’s musical history with the Mount Airy Fiddlers Convention the same month, and the arts organization incorporating that theme into activities at its new musical heritage hall.

After the July observance involving the birthday cake, the Gilmer-Smith Foundation will include the city celebration theme in a Melva Houston in the Park performance in August. Plans for a “Dogs Day” event the same month will be announced, organizers say.

Committee members also have discussed weaving the city birthday theme into the kickoff event for Mayberry Days in September.

A town tour/ghost walk highlighting legendary ghost tales is planned in October, when a library poster contest also will incorporate the celebration theme. The Autumn Leaves Festival and 5K on the Greenway are two other events planned that month which the committee lists on its schedule.

During November, all former military personnel from this community will be recognized at an annual Veterans Day observance and the museum is planning “Faces of Mount Airy,” a pictorial history exhibit.

The yearly Mount Airy tree-lighting ceremony organized by the city government and Mount Airy Appearance Commission in December will wrap up the year-long celebration, with city history to be incorporated into that gathering.

Along with those announced so far, birthday committee members have more activities in the works, Teague said.

Contact Tom Joyce at tjoyce@mtairynews.com or at 719-1924.