5th Annual

Cairo Magnolia Celebration

It’s been a special year for America as we have been commemorating our nation’s 250th birthday. For our organization, we are also privileged to mark five years of helping protect, promote, and preserve the historical resources of Cairo. What better way to keep the celebration going through Labor Day Weekend than to focus on the common heritage and historic roots we all share in our beloved hometown?

We invite you to be our guests on Saturday, September 5 from noon to 2:30 as we gather to remember and honor Historical Cairo at an informational refreshment reception held inside the 1883 A.B. Safford Memorial Library. The TCHPP board as well as other stakeholders will be giving updates on the current historical preservation progress happening in our city.

We will also be honoring some of the area’s unsung historical volunteers that do so much behind the scenes to perserve and maintain our city’s historic spots for all to enjoy.

Cairo’s public library, along with the 1872 Cairo Custom House Museum, are the very places that store our community’s collective heart, memories, and priceless memorabilia. You will have opportunity to walk through the inside and outside of the library grounds to view the improvements and additions that have been made in the last year or more.

Our event will conclude with an optional car-caravan tour of TCHPP’s most recent preservation collaboration, the new Cairo African American Heritage Trail. The CAAHT (and web-based Oral History Project) launched December 2025 in partnership with the Illinois Innovation Network, the University of Illinois - Urbana, and Southern Illinois University - Carbondale.

Finish out the afternoon in Historical Cairo by heading uptown to the beautiful Magnolia Manor Victorian Museum, 2700 Washington Avenue, that will be open for viewing (3:00 to 4:30 pm). Self-tours of Cairo’s other historic Places of Interest can be located with this online map.

While this is a free event, opportunity will be given to make a tax-deductible donation to support Historical Cairo, which includes our four main project buildings: the library, Custom House, Magnolia Manor, and the Ward Chapel AME Church.

Pre-registration at this link is requested (even up to the day of ) so that we can adequately prepare for our special gathering.

Whether you are local, returning to Cairo for a family or class reunion, or visiting to attend the annual Smooth Jazz Festival sponsored by the Harold S. Jones Fine Arts Center on Sunday, we invite you to take some time to celebrate and remember our shared historical heritage by attending the Cairo Magnolia Celebration!

DATE: Saturday, September 5

TIME: Noon to 2:30 pm

LOCATION: Cairo Public Library

1609 Washington Avenue, Cairo, IL

COST: No charge, but donations to TCHPP, Inc. will be gratefully accepted.

PLEASE PRE-REGISTER FOR THE EVENT AT THIS LINK