CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) For the 63rd consecutive year, Monticello’s west lawn will host a naturalization ceremony on the Fourth of July.

This year, about 70 people from this area will be take the oath of citizenship and be naturalized at U.S. citizens, Thomas Jefferson Foundation director of marketing and communications Jennifer Lyon told Cville Right Now.

The event will include a keynote speech by historical filmmaker Ken Burns, who has a longstanding relationship with Monticello. Burns has a new six-part, 12-hour documentary focused on the American Revolution set to debut this fall.

The ceremony begins at 9 a.m. and is free to attend, though reservations are required. Shuttle busses from Piedmont Virginia Community College begin running at 7:30 a.m. The celebration also includes live music, children’s activities and concession offerings.

This year’s event will be held under a large, fan-cooled tent, Monticello – the home of former president and author of the Declaration of Independence – the Thomas Jefferson Foundation announced.

While the event has occurred every year since 1963, the 2021 edition was not open to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recent speakers include outgoing UVA president Jim Ryan (2023), chef Jose Andres (2020), then-Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe (2015), musician Dave Matthews (2013) and President George W. Bush (2008).

Literacy Volunteers of Charlottesville/Albemarle, an area adult literacy organization, said it will have eight students from its program being naturalized Friday.

Citizenship coordinator Catherine McCall said, despite the current political climate levels of apprehension in the immigrant community, interest in the program and becoming naturalized as a U.S. citizen remains high.

“We continue to see strong interest in working towards naturalization,” McCall told Cville Right Now. “I have heard a few students mention other family members that were not going to pursue naturalization now because they are worried that this administration will be looking for reasons to deny them or worse, but others have reached out because they have been eligible to apply, but hadn’t done so yet and are now expediting their plans to apply.”

As for concern that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could use the ceremony to round-up people for deportation, especially for families with mixed documentation statuses, McCall said that’s not her students have expressed concerns about.

“Because so many of our citizenship students came as refugees with green cards for their families, I have not heard any concerns about this among our students,” McCall said. “It is worth noting that USCIS invited these folks to participate in this oath ceremony and in order to participate, they have to sign a recording/photo/name use waiver. Those who would be uncomfortable with that could decline and wait for the next oath ceremony opportunity.”