Bellevue celebrated its 154th birthday with a cake, bounce house and games this weekend.
Bellevue locals pride themselves on being a tight knit community, said city Marketing Director Melissa Morandi, who came up with the idea of the birthday celebration.
“We’re just trying to create family-friendly fun events and thought this would be a really great addition,” Morandi said.
The birthday event, held Friday, March 15 at the Callahan Community Center, was complete with raffle drawings throughout the evening, keeping even the smallest of attendees engaged. 100 bags of candy were handed out to kids, and prizes such as solar eclipse glasses were up for grabs.
Photo taken by Isabella Zinchini for LINK NKY. Bellevue kids play together in a bounce house at the first-annual Bellevue birthday party at the Callahan Community Center on March 15, 2024. The bounce house, along with many raffle items and food, were provided by the city of Bellevue. 
Photo taken by Isabella Zinchini for LINK NKY. Local historian Jim McPhail (left) shares historical Bellevue artifacts with Bellevue locals at the first-annual Bellevue birthday party at the Callahan Community Center on March 15, 2024. The city was incorporated in 1870, and McPhail and Bev (not pictured) pride themselves on sharing its history. 
Photo taken by Isabella Zinchini for LINK NKY. Local historians Jim (left) and Bev (right) McPhail attend the first-annual Bellevue birthday party with historical Bellevue artifacts on hand to share with the public at the Callahan Community Center on March 15, 2024. 
Photo taken by Isabella Zinchini for LINK NKY. Bellevue, KY Mayor Charlie Cleves (left) announces the raffle winner of a bottle of gin at the first-annual Bellevue birthday party at the Callahan Community Center on March 15, 2024. All alcoholic raffle gifts were donated by locals. 
Photo taken by Isabella Zinchini for LINK NKY. Bellevue, KY, Mayor, Charlie Cleves, points to a raffle winner during the first-annual Bellevue Birthday party at the Callahan Community Center on March 15, 2024. Give-aways included small prizes for kids, solar eclipse glasses and alcoholic beverages. 
Photo taken by Isabella Zinchini for LINK NKY. Bellevue, KY, Marketing and Communications Director, Melissa Morandi (left) and Mayor, Charlie Cleves (right) draw a name in a raffle during the first-annual Bellevue Birthday party at the Callahan Community Center on March 15, 2024. Many give-aways were donated by the Bellevue community. 
Photo taken by Isabella Zinchini for LINK NKY. Van Winkle Reserve 12 Years Old is given away in a raffle during the first-annual Bellevue Birthday party at the Callahan Community Center on March 15, 2024. The Party Source President and CEO John Stiles donated the Bourbon worth $1,2000 for the event. 
Photo taken by Isabella Zinchini for LINK NKY. Bellevue children recieve 100 bags of candy with 12 opportunities to win additional prizes during the first-annual Bellevue birthday party. The event was held from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Callahan Community Center on March 15, 2024. 
Photo taken by Isabella Zinchini for LINK NKY. Bellevue Police SWAT officer Trevor Bonar (left), Assistant City Clerk Christi Schehr (middle) and City Clerk Lindy Jenkins (right) attend the first-annual Bellevue birthday party at the Callahan Community Center on March 15, 2024. 
Photo taken by Isabella Zinchini for LINK NKY. The community of Bellevue, KY, throws its first-annual birthday party for the city of Bellevue at the Callahan Community Center on March 15, 2024. The party celebrated the city’s 154th “birthday” with cake, raffle drawings, a bounce house and other games.
While the city funded some raffle items, local business owners funded others. Perhaps the most notable raffle item was a bottle of 12-year Pappy Van Winkle Reserve, thanks to Party Source President and CEO John Stiles.
“I went to The Party Source and talked to John Stiles and he just [gave] me [the bourbon],” Mayor Charlie Cleves said.
From there the donations snowballed, with all kinds of people wanting to contribute to the event, including state representative candidate Terry Hatton, who donated three bottles of whiskey, and even One Stop Liquors donating shirts.
“Everybody just wanted to make our event better and better,” Cleves said. “It’s really a community thing.”
The city of Bellevue holds many events aimed toward bringing families together and building a tight community, Cleves said. Even the police and fire departments get involved, holding events of their own such as hayrides and collecting school supplies for Bellevue schools.
“No matter what we do, the police and fire [departments] help us,” Cleves said. “We [have] a great team of people, that’s what makes Bellevue.”
With it comes a rich history- dating back to 1870 when Bellevue was first incorporated, the city has well preserved most of its original architecture, adding to its historic charm.
Local historians Jim and Bev McPhail were also in attendance for the event, bringing with them a few historical artifacts, and a wide knowledge of the city’s history to share.
Originally just looking to research their own house in Bellevue, the McPhails discovered there was a lot to learn about the city.
“We set out just to learn about [Bellevue] building history and one day we went to the city clerk’s office, just looking for the building permit for our house,” Jim McPhail said.
They ended up scavenging through a room full of old historic papers in the clerk’s office, and have since delved deeper into the history of the city, looking for any opportunity to share it with others.
“We love history and we love sharing it,” McPhail said.
As retired Navy, the McPhails have lived all over, but “[Bellevue] felt like home for the first time in years,” Jim McPhail said.