Smithsonian exhibit coming in 2018

Jefferson is on deck to host a Smithsonian traveling exhibition in 2018 celebrating sports in American communities, Main Street Iowa announced Monday, Opening Day of the Major League Baseball season.

Six communities in all were chosen to host “Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America” as part of the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street program — a national/state/local partnership to bring exhibitions and programs to rural areas.

The exhibition will tour Iowa from March 17, 2018, through Jan. 1, 2019, visiting the Main Street communities of Ames, Conrad, Guthrie Center, Jefferson, Mount Vernon and Ottumwa.

Jefferson will host the exhibit Aug. 11, 2018, to Sept. 23, 2018.

“Hometown Teams” promises to capture the stories that unfold on the neighborhood fields and courts, along with the underdog heroics, larger-than-life legends, fierce rivalries and gut-wrenching defeats.

Main Street Iowa is a program of the Iowa Economic Development Authority.