As part of the City of Sammamish 10th birthday celebrations, the city will bury a 40-year time capsule carrying videotaped messages from 10-year-old children and other residents.

Mayor Don Gerend, who has been visiting schools to publicize the event, has suggested that kids send a message to themselves.

“They get a kick out of that idea,” Gerend said. “Kids who want to be firefighters or astronauts now realize they may be addressing someone who ended up taking a completely different path. I suggested that their messages could include something like ‘I hope you’re happy.’”

Although the 10-year-olds are a special focus in honor of the city’s 10th birthday, residents of all ages are welcome to contribute their video greetings and thoughts to the time capsule.

Their messages will be captured at the city’s Farmers Market, which starts at 4 p.m. on May 20, and will be held every Wednesday through the summer. Eddie Bishop of Audio Amigo Video Services has volunteered to record the greetings.

His cameras will be ready to roll between 5 and 7 p.m., every Wednesday through June 24.

“When people arrive at the Farmers Market, we’ll have signs pointing to the camera location,” Gerend said. “We’ll make it easy and lots of fun.”

Considering that the time capsule will be opened in 2049, residents may want to talk about their “favorite memories” of Sammamish, or their “hopes” for the city, Gerend said.

There is no strict time limit on the messages, but a target of 30 seconds or so would be helpful since the city hopes to bury hundreds of video clips.

The birthday party, to be held in and around City Hall on August 29, will begin at 10 a.m. with a Kids’ Parade and lots of live entertainment, food, cake and punch.

After an official birthday ceremony at 1 p.m., the time capsule will be buried at 1:30 p.m.

Later that evening, at 6 p.m., the Chamber of Commerce will host a ticketed “food and wine” event.

For more information on the big celebration, go to the city website (www.ci.sammamish.wa.us) and click on the big number 10!

Fourth on the Plateau

At Tuesday night’s meeting of the City Council, Administrative Services Director Mike Sauerwein said that residents would need to be aware of some planning changes at this year’s Fourth of July celebrations.

Sauerwein said that this year, the lower commons area would be the focal point for spectators. The area popular with spectators in previous years, in the upper commons next to city hall, is now the site of the new library.

Sauerwein said that most of the attractions would be staged in the lower commons area. He also outlined some traffic regulations which would be in affect during the event.

For more info, go to www.ci.sammamish.wa.us/4thJuly.aspx.