Chair, ELGL Board of Directors
City Hall Selfie Day returns on Aug. 15, 2024. With the calendar inching toward what we at ELGL call the best day of the year, I cannot wait to see what you have in store.
Every August, a cast of public servants, elected officials, journalists, and residents hoist phones, drones, and bucket trucks to celebrate City Hall Selfie Day. The official celebration launched in 2016, and today the annual event is a fixture on local government calendars nationwide.
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City Hall Selfie Day is about more than the photos. (But to be clear, I love the photos.) Encouraging joy in public service is core to our mission at ELGL. City Hall Selfie Day allows those of us in public service to show humanity and humor while celebrating the work we do and the communities we serve.
City Hall Selfie Day turns 9 in 2024 and, as ELGL closes in on a decade of selfies, we invite you to celebrate with us on Aug. 15:
- Take a picture in front of a local government building. (All local government is welcome: towns, cities, counties, libraries, and special districts.)
- Use the hashtag #CityHallSelfie when posting the photo to social media.
- Tag ELGL in your posts on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, TikTok, and X/Twitter.
ELGL also supports City Hall Selfie with a toolkit to help local gov pros spread the word about the event.
Trends come and go — and City Hall Selfie Day adapts. (Remember Pokémon GO?) Each community brings a unique approach to the celebration.
Whenever I think I’ve seen every permutation of a selfie and a government building, a new iteration surprises me. Like the TikTok filter to match you with a city hall, meticulous LEGO city hall, or the City Hall Selfie Day engagement.
@patrickm02l I created this new filter for #CityHallSelfie day! #TexasCityHall #CityHall #Texas @ELGL ♬ original sound – Patrick McDonnell
As someone fascinated by the ways pop culture mixes with local government (See exhibits A and B) City Hall Selfie Day does not disappoint.
In previous years the casts of “Law & Order: SVU,” “Queer Eye” and, of course, “Parks and Recreation” all showed up for City Hall Selfie Day.
Haiiii✌️Servin’ you a #CityHallSelfie from @KCMO!🏛🌟 pic.twitter.com/argGClguOo
— Queer Eye (@QueerEye) August 15, 2018
Summer 2023, tinged in Barbie pink, inspired so much City Hall Selfie Day creativity — enough for ELGL to create a special recognition.
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Fictional city halls pop up on City Hall Selfie Day, too. The city halls at Disneyland, both the structures on Main Street, U.S.A. and in Mickey’s Toontown, feature in many City Hall Selfie snaps over the years.
Happy #CityHallSelfie Day from Disney Land, CA! SAFEbuilt employees love their city halls, even on vacation! pic.twitter.com/R419TleQ8T
— SAFEbuilt (@SAFEbuilt) August 15, 2017
The magic is not limited to theme parks. In the City of St. Helens, OR, a.k.a. Halloweentown, a Disney made-for-TV movie franchise is a City Hall Selfie Day staple.
The City of St. Helens, OR is bringing the #SpiritOfHalloweentown to the @ELGL50 @CityHallSelfie #CityHallSelfie day this year! Featuring both the real St. Helens city hall (left) and the fictional Disney’s Halloweentown city hall filming location (right). #CityHallSelfieDay pic.twitter.com/mTTMA3fZEa
— City Of St.Helens (@sthelens) August 15, 2022
No matter how you choose to participate, and whether you join from a small town or a big city, you will be joining other public servants across the United States and around the world to show pride in local government.
Over the years I’ve also come to see a deeper meaning in City Hall Selfie Day: a reminder in the power of public service to bring people together. It is, after all, the best day of the year.