The town of Busti is preparing to celebrate its bicentennial anniversary next year. The town recently formed a 17-member committee to plan a variety of festivities and celebratory events. Pictured is the Busti Mill between 1892 and 1910. Photo by the Fenton Historical Center

Local residents will have many festivities to look forward to next year as the town of Busti has announced the formation of a committee to plan a series of bicentennial celebrations.

“The actual date of the 200th anniversary is April 16 of 2023,” Darlene Nygren, Busti town clerk and bicentennial chairwoman, said. “We’re hoping to have a kickoff celebration at that time.”

In May, the town is planning on taking advantage of the Memorial Day festivities to celebrate Busti’s bicentennial. During the months of June, July and August, the town will hold additional festivities in honor of the bicentennial.

“The committee is working at trying to come up with some special event for each of those months,” Nygren said.

The town plans on concluding the year’s bicentennial celebrations in September with a carnival event, concerts, a parade, fireworks, and the Busti Apple Festival in September.

Jesse Robbins, town supervisor, said the carnival event will lead right up to the bicentennial’s conclusion with the Busti Apple Festival.

“We’re hoping for a really good crowd,” he said. “It’s going to be an extra big deal with it being the town’s 200th anniversary.”

Nygren said there has also been some discussion of holding a Miss Busti competition, which was popular when the town held a sesquicentennial celebration.

“We’re just trying to celebrate the past but also celebrate how Busti has evolved,” Nygren said. “Our hope is to bring the community together and establish a renewed pride for where we are at. People love this area, and we just want to be able to celebrate our town.”

The planning committee has 17 members, including the town clerk, the town supervisor, the town highway superintendent and the Lakewood-Busti chief of police. The committee also includes representatives from the town fire department, the fire department auxiliary, the Busti Historical Society and six members from the community.

Norman Carlson, the town’s local historian, said he hopes the committee will place a larger emphasis on the history of the town during the bicentennial celebrations.

“In these very early stages, there isn’t an awful lot of history planned for the bicentennial,” he said. “I hope to influence that in a different direction.”

Nygren said the 17-member committee has discussed forming subcommittees that would be responsible for different bicentennial celebration events. Other community members would be invited to join the subcommittees as they plan the various activities for the celebration next year.

“That’s when I see that it’s going to bring the community together even greater,” she said.

The town is currently looking to partner with local businesses for the sponsorship of the bicentennial events. Nygren indicated there are multiple businesses that are considering sponsoring the town’s events.

Robbins said the bicentennial festivities will be a special opportunity to celebrate “a perfect little town on Chautauqua Lake.”

“I am very very excited about this happening,” he said. “Being the supervisor, it’s quite an honor.”

For those interested in learning more about the town’s bicentennial celebrations, Nygren said the town will be advertising for the events, posting information on social media, and possibly creating a dedicated Facebook page for the bicentennial.

“There definitely will be advertisements going out,” Nygren said.

Once plans for the various events are developed, the town will send out letters with information to town residents by the beginning of 2023.