Massachusetts 250th Commission Greenlights Declaration Reprint for All 351 Towns

BOSTON — June 9, 2026 — Massachusetts 250th Commission previews Sail Boston, Declaration reprints, and a new state time capsule effort. At the commission's 24th meeting on June 9, Co-Chair Representative Sean Garberley and Senate Co-Chair Senator Paul Mark received a full operational briefing from Dusty Rhodes of Conventures on the July 10-15 tall ships festival, which carries a budget of more than $5 million and will bring 60 ships from 20 countries to Boston Harbor, with ship boarding and the festival grounds free to the public. MOTT Director Kate Fox reported that the Massachusetts250.org email click-through rate is running five times above industry benchmarks, that the MA250 store has logged 430 orders, and that $3.5 million in statewide grants are in their final stretch — with James Taylor narrating six promotional videos set to air during the Boston Pops July 4th broadcast. Revolution 250's Jonathan Lane announced that funding is secured to reprint the 1776 Ezekiel Russell Declaration of Independence on an 18th-century letterpress in Andover, with copies headed to all 351 cities and towns by Independence Day. The commission also began recruiting volunteers for a working group to design a Massachusetts-specific time capsule, distinct from the six-by-five-by-two-inch box the state contributed to the America 250 national capsule, set to be buried July 4th at Independence Mall in Philadelphia.