GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — This December marks 250 years since American colonists dumped 300 crates of tea into the Boston Harbor to protest taxation without representation by Great Britain. To commemorate the act, which later became known as the Boston Tea Party and was an important precursor to the American Revolution, there is a reenactment of the event and organizers are asking for tea donations.

Citizens from around the world can send their loose-leaf tea to the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum to be thrown into the historic harbor on Dec. 16:

Boston Tea Party 250th Anniversary
Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum
306 Congress Street, Boston, MA, 02210

Be sure to include your name, address, email and phone number as an official certificate of participation will be sent to each person donating tea.

The deadline to send tea is Dec. 1.

  • The Boston Tea Party reenactment parade. (Courtesy)
  • The Meeting of the Body of the People reenactment. (Courtesy)
  • The Meeting of the Body of the People reenactment. (Courtesy)
  • Red Coats at the Boston Tea Party reenactment. (Courtesy Caroline Talbot Photography)

The reenactment will include several other historic events throughout the city of Boston, like the Meeting of the Body of the People, a town crier sharing the news and more.

This is the first event to mark the 250th anniversary of a historic event in the United States, which will be turning 250 on July 4, 2026.