Aspen Institute and Queen Anne’s County Historical Society have announced that the Keynote Address at their annual Independence Day Celebration will be delivered by Dr. Barbara Paca, O.B.E. Dr. Paca is a direct descendant of William Paca, one of four Marylanders to sign the Declaration of Independence.
The celebration will be held July 4, 2019 at 11am at Aspen Institute’s Houghton House on Carmichael Road near Queenstown. A Fourth of July tradition for more than fifty years, it will begin with a wreath laying at the William Paca Memorial. A color guard from the Sergeant Jason D. Mileo Marine Corps League from Centreville will be present. Music will be provided by the Chesapeake Bay Community Band. It will be held rain or shine and will last approximately 90 minutes.
Judy Price, the Director of Aspen Institute’s Wye River Campus, said, “On behalf of the Institute, I invite the community to join us on July 4 to celebrate Independence Day. We promise our visitors a moving and meaningful ceremony to commemorate this treasured national holiday.”
Boy Scouts from Queenstown display historic flags as part of the Celebration.
Queen Anne’s County Historical Society President Jennifer Moore noted, “The annual Independence Day Celebration is an important moment for the Eastern Shore community to celebrate our nation’s independence. We look forward to hearing Dr. Paca’s address.”
Barbara Paca is based in Oxford, Maryland, Manhattan, and Paris, where she is the principal of Preservation Green LLC. With a professional degree in landscape architecture, Ph.D. from Princeton, Fulbright Scholarship, and post at Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study, Dr. Paca is the only American landscape architect to be awarded an Order of the British Empire. Queen Elizabeth II appointed her as an Officer of the British Empire (O.B.E.) for a lifetime achievement in historic preservation.
Today Paca’s work embraces creating beautiful, sustainable properties around the world. Her roster of clients includes noted philanthropists who value Paca’s requirement for design projects that pose an intellectual challenge. Her collaborative approach incorporates the aesthetic of timeless beauty, cutting edge environmental practices, accessibility, inclusion, and giving back.
Established in 1950, the Aspen Institute is a nonpartisan forum for values-based leadership and the exchange of ideas. It has earned a reputation for gathering diverse and renowned thought leaders, scholars and members of the public to address some of the world’s most complex issues.
The Queen Anne’s County Historical Society is dedicated to preserving and disseminating the history of Queen Anne’s County. The Society owns two museums in Centreville that are open to the public on the first Saturdays of each month.
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