Two announcements from our friends at Fort Vancouver:

BEAT THE HEAT AT FORT VANCOUVER WITH SNEAK PEEK OF KEN BURNS’ NEW SERIES “THE NATIONAL PARKS: AMERICA’S BEST IDEA”

July 29, 2009
VANCOUVER, WA In response to all-time high temperatures in the Portland/Vancouver metro area, today Superintendent Tracy Fortmann announced that through the weekend the park will be offering a special free indoor activity in the park’s air-conditioned Visitor Center Theater: the showing of a 45-minute “sneak peek” of acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns’ and Florentine Films’ new series THE NATIONAL PARKS: AMERICA’S BEST IDEA.

The preview, introduced by one of the site’s rangers, will be shown at 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. daily at the air-conditioned Visitor Center Theater from Thursday, July 30 through Sunday, August 2, 2009. The theater capacity is 40 people and the event is first come, first served.

The six-episode, twelve-hour series THE NATIONAL PARKS: AMERICA’S BEST IDEA is directed by Burns and produced with his long-time colleague, Dayton Duncan, who also wrote the screenplay. It is scheduled to air this fall.

At its heart, the film is the story of an idea, as uniquely American as the Declaration of Independence and just as radical – that the most special places in the nation should be preserved, not for royalty or the rich, but for everyone. As such, it follows in the tradition of Burns’ exploration of other American inventions, such as baseball and jazz.

Filmed over the course of more than six years at some of nature’s most spectacular locales – from Acadia to Yosemite, Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon, the Everglades of Florida to the Gates of the Arctic in Alaska – the documentary is nonetheless a story of people: people from every conceivable background – rich and poor; famous and unknown; soldiers and scientists; natives and newcomers; idealists, artists and entrepreneurs; people who were willing to devote themselves to saving some precious portion of the land they loved, and in doing so reminded their fellow citizens of the full meaning of democracy. It is a story full of struggle and conflict, high ideals and crass opportunism, stirring adventure and enduring inspiration – set against the most breathtaking backdrops imaginable.

The narrative traces the birth of the national park idea in the mid-1800s and follows its evolution for nearly 150 years. Using archival photographs, first-person accounts of historical characters, personal memories and analysis from more than 40 interviews, and what Burns believes is the most stunning cinematography in Florentine Films’ history, the film chronicles the steady addition of new parks through the stories of the people who helped create them and save them from destruction. It is simultaneously a biography of compelling characters and a biography of the American landscape.

WHAT: A 45-minute preview of Ken Burns’s and Florentine Films’ new series
THE NATIONAL PARKS: AMERICA’S BEST IDEA

WHEN: 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. daily from Thursday, July 30 through Sunday,
August 2, 2009

WHERE: Visitor Center Theater, Fort Vancouver NHS, 1501 E. Evergreen Blvd., Vancouver, WA (360) 816-6230

WHO: The first 40 visitors. The theater capacity is 40 people and the event is first come, first served.

HOW MUCH: There is no cost to see the film, and entrance to the Visitor Center is free. Entrance fees apply to the adjacent reconstructed fort and Pearson Air Museum

For additional information about this and other special events offered by the National Park Service at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, please visit our website or call the Visitor Center at 360. 816.6230.

PARK’S MUSEUM COLLECTION & CURATION PROGRAM EXPLORED IN NEW EPISODE OF FORT VANCOUVER PODCAST

VANCOUVER, WA – Today, the National Park Service at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site released the latest episode of the Fort Vancouver Podcast. This episode, featuring Tessa Langford, park curator, and Heidi Pierson, museum technician, takes listeners behind the scenes with the park’s extensive museum collection: the vast array of more than two million items ranging from artifacts recovered during archaeological excavations to old photographs and textiles.

This free audio program, available online via subscription or direct download, is designed to provide a personal, behind the scenes look at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site–the Pacific Northwest’s premiere archaeological and historic site. This is also the first National Park Service podcast in the Pacific Northwest to be featured on iTunes, the dominant podcatching client.

The podcast is designed to enhance the listener’s visit to the site by providing compelling background information, history, stories, and anecdotes that shed additional light on park resources, activities and programs. Conversations with staff members, visitors, park partners and many of the site’s 400 volunteers will take listeners on an intimate journey and help show why this urban national park – with its historic buildings and landscapes, expansive recreational opportunities, reconstructed 1840’s fur trade stockade, dozens of interpretive programs and special events, and a collection of over 2 million artifacts – is relevant today, drawing nearly 900,000 visitors a year.

The podcast can be accessed online through the park website or iTunes. At the podcast’s park website, visitors can choose to subscribe to the RSS feed and have the episodes sent directly to their computer, or they can download the MP3 file directly from the website. The podcast is also available as a free download through Apple’s online iTunes Store. Simply enter “Fort Vancouver Podcast” into the iTunes search engine or click on the link to iTunes from the park webpage.

“From archaeologists analyzing latest finds to volunteer blacksmiths creating essential tools, from rangers crafting new programs and events to museum staff describing fascinating artifacts, this podcast will help listeners learn much about their national park,” explained podcast producer Greg Shine, the park’s chief ranger and historian, “and hopefully help them forge their own, personal connection to this very special and significant site.”

Background: Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, a unit of the National
Park Service, is the heart of the Vancouver National Historic Reserve. The
Vancouver National Historic Reserve brings together a national park, a
premier archaeological site, the region’s first military post, an
international fur trade emporium, one of the oldest operating airfields,
the first national historic site west of the Mississippi River, and a
waterfront trail and environmental center on the banks of the Columbia
River. The partners of the Reserve teach visitors about the fur trade,
early military life, natural history, and pioneers in aviation, all within
the context of Vancouver’s role in regional and national development. The
Reserve’s vast array of public programs — including living history events,
festivals, cultural demonstrations, exhibits, active archaeology, and other
special activities — create a dynamic, fun, and unique tourist destination
for people of all ages.