GRAND LAKE — Sept. 17 marks the 227th anniversary of the completion of the U.S. Constitution and its signing by delegates of the Constitutional Convention.

Grand Lake will again commemorate the date with its third annual Constitution Week from Sept. 15-20.

The U.S. Constitution was not officially ratified until June 21, 1788, after New Hampshire ratified the document, the ninth state to do so. The Constitution went into effect that same day.

At the time only nine of the 13 states had ratified the Constitution, meeting the two-thirds minimum requirement for adoption. Virginia and New York ratified shortly thereafter.

It would be more than a year later, and after the establishment of the first U.S. Congress and the election of President Washington, before North Carolina would approve the Constitution.

It was not the last though. The last of the original 13 states, Rhode Island, ratified the Constitution on May 29, 1790, nearly three full years after the document was first sent to the states.

In commemoration of these historic events Grand Lake will feature a week of lectures and speakers discussing topics related to the Constitution.

The weeklong event begins on Mon. Sept. 15 with Vincent McGuire, Ph.D., of the University of Colorado and his presentation “The Constitution: A view from the States”.

Tuesday will feature Ryan Murphy, Ph.D, of Colorado Christian University presenting “The Constitution: A Living Document?”

Thomas Krannawitter, Ph.D., of George Mason University will present “Politics without the noise: Venting vs. Persuasion” on Wednesday, Sept. 17.

Rob Natelson, a senior fellow at both the Independence Institute and the Montana Policy Institute, will present “What is all the buzz about Article V?” on Thursday, Sept. 18.

The last of the lecture series will be held Friday, Sept. 19, and will feature Ron Cole of the U.S. Great Seal Awareness Project presenting “Rediscover America’s Founding: Vision of Peach & Unity.”

Saturday, Sept. 20, will be a busy day in Grand Lake as Constitution Week wraps up. Saturday will feature the “Run For the Republic 5K” fundraiser, a parade, fly-over and other events. The featured speaker on Saturday will be Michael Brown from KHOW radio in Denver.

A fireworks display over Grand Lake will cap off the week on Saturday evening.