Declaration: Freedom event celebrates signing of one of the United States' most important documents

PROVO — Celebrate Benjamin Franklin's 300th birthday and add your name to the Declaration of Independence at the newest America's Freedom Festival at Provo event.

The event, Freedom of the Press, will be July 3 and 4 at the Crandall Historical Printing Museum, 275 E. Center, Provo.

An opening ceremony will be held July 3 for the public, beginning with a special flag presentation conducted by Boy Scouts dressed in historic uniforms. Balloons in the shape of kites will be released to celebrate Franklin's birthday, and the museum and entertainment areas will open for the day.

On the Fourth of July, residents are invited to come in after the grand parade and take a quick walking tour.

From the hands of Johannes Gutenberg to the inspiring works of Franklin, those visiting the museum will experience what freedom of the press really means. A highlight of the event will include an opportunity for residents to show their support and add their names to a replica of the Declaration of Independence. Their names will join others as the completed document travels to Washington, D.C.

Children are invited to "meet" Franklin and have some fun in the discovery room with the Children's Discovery Museum of Utah Valley as they complete hands-on projects, including making a kite.

There will be other interactive opportunities beginning with pulling the "devil's tail" on the world's only complete working replica of the Gutenberg Press and printing a copy of the Declaration of Independence on a replica of Franklin's press.

The walking tour will allow visitors to view a replica of the E.B. Grandin print shop in Palmyra, N.Y., where the Book of Mormon was printed.

There's also a Model 5 Linotype machine that will print out names.

As part of the celebration there will be a large tent in the museum's parking lot with entertainment throughout the day featuring the talents of the Island Style Dancers, SCERA Youth Theatre and the Benjamin Franklin Birthday Quintet.

The Crandall Historic Printing Museum has been in the area for a decade. Provo Mayor Lewis Billings has called the museum "a diamond of Provo."

---

If you go . . .

What: America's Freedom Festival at Provo's Freedom of the Press event

Where: Crandall Historical Printing Museum, 275 E. Center, Provo

When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., July 3; 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., July 4

Cost: Free