It's been to just about every corner of the county during its short life. Now, it's headed to Columbus. Lawrence County Bicentennial Committee members are readying the county's Bicentennial bell for a trip this weekend to the state capitol for the final event in a year-long statehood celebration.

Bicentennial officials will officially bring down the Bicentennial curtain at the Statehouse on Sunday. Activities will run from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., with closing ceremonies set for 1 p.m.

The day's theme is "Best of the Bicentennial" and will include representation from the celebration's popular projects and events.

State committee members have invited committees in each county to bring their county bells o the statehouse.

State Bicentennial committee spokesman Fred Stratmann said he was not expecting every single county to brings its bell, since some of those bells were scheduled to appear in local functions that weekend. Other bells have been installed as permanent fixtures in their respective counties and are therefore not mobile.

After the final county bell- the one for Franklin County-is made On Friday and Saturday, all of the bells there will be rung simultaneously in the closing ceremony on Sunday.

"It's going to be a nice thing," Lawrence County Bicentennial Committee member Dave Milem said. "It will be something to see all those bells together, all rung at the same time."

The weekend will be the last chance for Ohioans to meet people like Bicentennial barn painter Scott Hagan, and to re-visit events, exhibits and programs that highlighted the eight-month celebration.

Bicentennial programs first began in 1998. From barn paintings to bell castings to the dedication of more than 500 historical markers, each of the state's 88 counties, regardless of location or size, has been involved.