CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — Gov. Abigail Spanberger will be the keynote speaker at Monticello’s 64th Annual Naturalization Ceremony on July 4, the organization announced on Thursday.

Spanberger will be the ninth Governor of Virginia to speak at Thomas Jefferson’s historic home on Independence, and all of the Commonwealth’s living former governors have also been invited to the event.

“Virginia is where American democracy was born, and where we are still working to perfect it today,” Spanberger said in a statement. “It is an honor to mark the United States semiquincentennial at Monticello, and I can think of no better way to spend the Fourth of July than alongside our nation’s newest citizens as they take their oath and renew the promise of American ideals for all of us.”

Monticello has held its Naturalization Ceremony since 1963. Since then, nearly 4,000 new Americans have taken the oath of citizenship on the property’s West Lawn.

This year’s ceremony will also coincide with the 250th Anniversary of the United States, marked by the signing of Declaration of Independence which was famously penned by Jefferson, as well as the 250th Anniversary of Virginia’s Constitution.

The event has been designated as VA250’s “Signature Naturalization Ceremony,” and will programming meant to highlight Virginia’s role in the nation’s founding

The ceremony is free and open to the public, but registration is required in advance.