Monroeville, Ala. hosts To Kill a Mockingbird 50th Anniversary Celebration
     Cities and towns across American are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the publication of Harper Lee’s popular novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, with parties, lectures, discussions and “Big Read” events. But Lee’s hometown of Monroeville is clearly at the center of the commemoration.
     The Old Courthouse Museum and the town square, which provide the setting for the renowned novel, are the logical places to celebrate. This sleepy south Alabama town has not been the same since the novel was published July 11, 1960. Mockingbird fans from all over the world visit in search of the fictional Maycomb of the novel.

Thursday, July 8, 2010
     The Monroe County Heritage Museum presented an entire weekend of events, beginning on Thursday, July 8 with “Scenes and Stories of Monroeville,” a morning of panel discussions by Monroeville residents who remember the novel’s publication and how its amazing success took the community by surprise. The day’s schedule also includes the first public showing in Monroeville of the acclaimed film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird since 1963.

Friday, July 9, 2010
     A marathon reading by distinguished writers, celebrities and ordinary fans of the novel began on Friday, July 9 and continued through Saturday, July 10. Visitors and townspeople read aloud from the judge’s bench in the old courtroom where Harper Lee’s father practiced law.
    Activities on Friday, July 9 ended with a bountiful evening of traditional Southern foods described in To Kill a Mockingbird: turnip greens, potato salad, cornbread, sliced vine-ripe tomatoes, fried chicken, baked ham and, of course, lane cake (all prepared by Chef Clif Holt of Little Savannah in Birmingham). Southern cocktail expert and author of two books on Southern drinks and drinking, Denise Gee, created a signature drink for the weekend — “Tequila Mockingbird.”
     The evening was set at the Hybart House Museum and Cultural Center, a lavish 1920s Monroeville home noted for its history of entertaining. In fact, Mrs. Hybart welcomed Harper Lee and her friend Truman Capote for an evening of food and conversation the night before the two young writers set off for Kansas to research what became the groundbreaking novel In Cold Blood.

Saturday, July 10, 2010
     The schedule on Saturday, July 10, included a preview screening of Sandy Jaffe’s upcoming documentary Our Mockingbird. The evening concludes with a giant lawn party of food, drink and conversation on the courthouse lawn.
      Activities during the day on July 9 and 10 included 1930s-era children’s games on the courthouse lawn and walking tours of downtown Monroeville and the sites where Harper Lee and Truman Capote lived as children.

Sunday, July 11, 2010
     On Sunday, July 11, the actual publication date of To Kill a Mockingbird, cake and ice cream was served on the courthouse lawn. The Pastry Shop in Mobile, Alabama, created a special cake for the event.

Click here to view the full weekend schedule.

Click here to see what other communities across America are doing to celebrate To Kill A Mockingbird's anniversary.