Lee Brice, one of the most played country artists of all time, and Buddy Valastro, star of the TLC Network Reality Show “Cake Boss,” will headline events marking the Mill City’s Bicentennial Anniversary in 2026.

A fundraising letter mailed to local businesses and individuals highlights the appearances as part of an eight month series of events planned to bring Lowellians together to “celebrate our Past, generate pride in our Present and create hope for our Future.”

The letter is signed by prominent Lowellians Michael Kuenzler, Shelagh Mahoney and Steve Panagiotakos, who were tasked with raising private donations to primarily fund the opening and closing events.

Valastro kicks things off February 28th as part of Lowell’s Annual Winterfest with the unveiling of a Bicentennial cake he created and a Lowell Bake Off, which he will judge.

The Hoboken, New Jersey native began working at his family’s business, Carlos Bakery, at age eleven. Through exposure in bridal magazines from designing wedding cakes, he was asked to compete in four Food Network Challenge cake competitions. After losing his first three battles, he took the top prize of $10,000 on “battle of the brides”. He then pitched a reality show about life at Carlo’s, where he worked with his mother, sister and various in-laws and cousins. TLC picked up the show in 2009.

The Bicentennial Celebration continues March 26th with the Grammy Award winning country artist Brice performing at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium. All tickets from that concert will be given out to a cross section of the city’s population through non-profit agencies, sponsors and a resident lottery.

Brice boast nine #1 radio singles and songs performed by other country stars including Garth Brooks, Jason Aldean and Kenny Chesney. He was the second country artist behind Keith Urban to receive a Pandora Billionaire plaque, referring to an artist who has achieved over one billion downloads on the popular streaming service.

The final showcase of the celebration will be a Fall Festival in October featuring streets in Downtown Lowell that will be closed off and filled with tents, entertainment and food, as well as either a fireworks or drone show.

In addition, InsideLowell has learned the city is working with businesses to establish monthly entertainment events over an eight month period, ranging from music and comedy to paint nights and murder mystery.

The city is also working on a number of other components to the celebration, including photo exhibits, public art, history walks and home and garden tours.

Lowell was established by Boston investors for textile manufacturing and named after Francis Cabot Lowell, a pioneer of the American Industrial Revolution who died in 1817 before the town was founded. . It was first incorporated as a Town on March 1, 1826 and received its City Charter in April of 1836, becoming only the third city in Massachusetts behind Boston and Salem.

The Mill City’s Bicentennial coincides with the United States Semiquincentennial celebration marking the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.