The city of Tullahoma has been approved for a $10,000 grant for the upcoming America 250 celebration.

The money will be used to help put on the celebration of which the city’s engagement officer gave a sneak preview of during the recent board of mayor and aldermen.

“When I was first tasked with this I was going to come up with events we could do throughout the year,” explained Community Engagement Officer Lyle Russell. “I have been working closely with some of our other folks like South Jackson and the Fine Arts Center, people we can partner with to share some of these costs and share some of celebration too.”

He said the first item coming up is An Evening with the Ghost Army with tickets now on sale on South Jackson’s website. The author of the book will make a presentation and is also bringing one of the fake tanks the Allies used to fool the Nazis during World War II.

Other things being done for America 250 include a redesign of the downtown banners which will be going up in the coming weeks. Russell is also producing a video series about Tullahoma’s contributions to the nation. Russell said he is also working with parks and rec to get the Independence Day event ready.

“We’ve got a couple of surprises in store for that but I don’t want to tip my hand just yet,” he said.

Two more areas he is looking at includes commissioning five or six pieces of art work that are specific for America 250 of places in and around Tullahoma. The originals would be hung in city hall and prints could be sold to the public.

Lastly, Russell is looking at the Tennessee Philharmonic Orchestra and doing an Orchestra in the Outfield. “We would basically take Grider Stadium and turn it into an orchestra pit,” he said, envisioning a side-by-side performance with the high school band. “Maybe even a drone show. It just takes a little money so I hope you remember that during budget.”