Marion Military Institute is planning a year-long celebration in honor of the school’s 175th anniversary that will kick off Sept. 1 with a birthday party for the institute.

“Marion Military Institute is celebrating its 175th year from 1842 with the founding of Howard College,” said O’Neal Holmes, director of alumni and community affairs.“We are kicking off our year-long celebration at our cresting celebration on Sept. 1.”

To celebrate, 450 cadets will participate in a cresting ceremony, where the new recruits will officially join the Corps of Cadets. The chancellor  of the Alabama Community College System, Jimmy Baker, will be there to read a declaration from Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and the 16th president of MMI Col. David J. Mollahan, USMC, will address the Corps and those in attendance.

“We are very excited that the 175th is kicking off, and we’re looking forward to the year-long celebration,” Holmes said. “We’re excited to have 175 years of producing leaders, and we’re celebrating that milestone.”

Following the cresting ceremony, there will be a parade, the president’s address, Gubernatorial Proclamation, a birthday cake cutting and the entire Corps will sing happy birthday. After the ceremony, the new cadets will be crested by their cadet leadership followed by a parade on the front lawn of campus.

Holmes said they will also be accepting entries for a time capsule that will be buried in April, then retrieved in 25 years for the 200th anniversary of the school.

“We are also collecting entries for a time capsule that we will bury in April,” Holmes said.

The festivities will begin on the campus, located at 1101 Washington St. in Marion, at 1:30 p.m.