The celebration of the 150th Anniversary of Morro Bay’s founding is building up steam, along with anticipation of the soon-to-be-revealed, collectible, jigsaw puzzle of Morro Bay.
Morro Bay Beautiful, the city’s longest running non-profit public beautification group, will along with the City, hold the 150th Celebration from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11 at the Morro Bay Community Center. Admission is $1 and there’ll be birthday cake, too.
MBB will also unveil a custom, jigsaw puzzle created by world-renowned artist and puzzle maker, Eric Dowdle, who will be on hand to meet the public and unveil the special painting he’s done of Morro Bay.
He will also deliver the first run of jigsaw puzzles created from his artwork that MBB will sell at participating retailers in town as a fundraiser for the organization.
After that run, the puzzle will be widely available at retailers and from the Dowdle Puzzle Co.’s online store, see: dowdlefolkart.com.
Morro Bay’s Sesquicentennial (150th) Anniversary of its founding by Franklin Riley was actually in 2019 but passed without recognition. MBB past president Ann Reisner said she learned about it too late for a celebration to be organized, and then the Coronavirus Pandemic hit and shut down all public celebrations. So this would be a belated, Happy 150th Birthday.
It will also be a chance to come together in remembrance of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks’ 20th anniversary (and possibly to celebrate the end of the war in Afghanistan the attacks led to).
Reisner put out the welcome mat. “We look forward to seeing you, your friends, and your neighbors at this great celebratory event,” she told EBN. “Come one — come all!”
Readers can get more information about MBB and the 150th celebration online at: www.morrobaybeautiful.org or call 805-772-8117.