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While July 4, 1776, may be the day the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, July 8 was the day that the document was first read to the public in Philadelphia.
To commemorate this anniversary is an initiative from the Hawai'i America250 Commission called Sharing the Spirit of America.
On July 8, 2026, people in all 50 states, the five U.S. territories, the District of Columbia, plus Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France (at the grave of the Marquis de Lafayette), Guatemala, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Midway Island, Morocco, New Zealand, Panama, Sweden, Thailand and Wake Island will simultaneously read the Declaration of Independence aloud.
Washington's time will be 3 p.m. (PT) and while many groups around the state will participate, our "official" reading will be in Kennewick with 16-year-old Tanner Headley reading the document at city hall. We are grateful to the Kennewick Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution for helping organize this event.
If you would like to watch this event, it will be livestreamed on Facebook Live (@America25WA). You do not need a Facebook account to watch. The recording will also be posted on our Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Anyone can participate! You can find the full text of the Declaration of Independence here. You can also find some introductory remarks to the document prepared by the 2025 Washington History Teacher of the Year on our website here.
For more information about this initiative or to register your location on the international map, please click the button below.
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