With no budget, Miami-Dade mayor crafts celebration of nation’s 250th birthday

Written by Kelly Sanchez on April 1, 2026

Miami-Dade’s celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary isn’t a low-budget salute: it’s a no-budget salute.

“We don’t have a budget, so it’s kind of tricky,” said Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who’s spearheading Miami-Dade 250, a year-long initiative featuring educational programs, events, cultural initiatives and community partnerships.

Without a penny for the festivities in the tight county budget, the mayor convened a 21-member advisory committee to develop “a comprehensive framework for Miami-Dade’s participation in America’s 250th celebration.”

She asked the group to plan events, coordinate with partners, encourage civic engagement and historical reflection, and find funds and partners to support celebrations and legacy projects with no county money budgeted.

“So that’s another reason why we’re taking advantage of all the activities,” the mayor told Miami Today. “We are raising some funds for the major fireworks drone display on July Fourth; obviously, July Fourth is the culmination of these months of activities.”

Some of the upcoming Miami-Dade 250 events are the Hyundai Air & Sea Show, HistoryMiami “Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation” and the 250th Anniversary of American Independence Fourth of July Celebration.

Residents and visitors will be able to see original founding-era documents first-hand at the HistoryMiami Museum, one of eight museums nationwide selected by the National Archives to host the exhibition.

“We’ve launched a website so that we can share the activities,” Ms. Levine Cava said. “The idea is not only to have the county implement our own activations but also to showcase all of the other celebrations happening throughout the county, and there’s many, many partners who are involved and who are hosting their items on our website calendar, and we want to bring it together in a collaboration so that the whole community can be advised, informed and participate.”

The website allows people to submit stories that capture what the milestone means for them, such as reflections on the nation’s history, family histories, poems or essays, moments when freedom, justice, democracy or opportunity became personal or visions for the future of the county and the nation. Merchandise including pins, hats, shirts, tote bags and stickers will also be available online at MiamiDade.gov/sites/initiative/Miami-Dade250/home/page.

“We want everyone to join in understanding and appreciating the significance of our nation’s 250th birthday,” the mayor said. “The particular lens that I am bringing as the mayor of the county is that this is a place where we all belong … we want to really highlight and showcase our unique role in American history.”

Miami-Dade 250 will celebrate the nation’s achievements while reflecting on its past.

“Basically, we’re encouraging everybody to do their piece and then showcasing it so that it can be like a party all year long,” the mayor said. “Of course, we want to celebrate our achievements, but we also want to reflect on our history, which sometimes had challenges, and so we don’t want to shy away from that.

“For example, talking about the role of women, we know women were not given particular recognition for their role in the Revolution, and obviously it took a while for women to get the vote and so on. All of that is history that is real, but maybe a little hard sometimes to swallow, and so we want to showcase that.”