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Anchorage Centennial News

March 2015 Centennial Update

Friends

We are thrilled that the Anchorage Centennial Celebration has already begun with a series of important events planned and underway—culminating in June, July and August, the 100th anniversary of the founding of our community. 

I write to advise donors and supporters of the Cook Inlet Historical Society of the status of all the activity.  See also http://anchoragecentennial.org/.

Legacy Projects


Working with Mayor Dan Sullivan, Susan Duck, his Centennial Director, and the Alaska Humanities Forum, we are pleased to announce that three “legacy” projects have been featured by the community celebration:
  1. Centennial Book. A book chronicling the history of Anchorage, From the Shores of Ship Creek: Stories from Anchorage's First 100 Years, has been written by lifelong Alaskan and award-winning author Charles Wohlforth.  It has been published by Todd Communications of Anchorage and will be available during the late spring of 2015.
  2. Documentary Film.  The official feature-length Anchorage Centennial Legacy Film "Anchorage Is..." commemorating the centennial, has been produced by Todd Hardesty, Alaska Video Postcards and John Larson, multiple award-winning journalist.  The film was first premiered in September, 2014.  In March it will be presented several nights locally at the Bear Tooth Theatre Pub.  It will be available on home television later in the year.
  3. Internet Application.  A web application and interactive online archive have been developed to document and promote the Centennial, produced by Alaska Channel.  This application is now on line at http://anchoragecentennial.org.

Grants

While there are nearly 100 projects approved to use the centennial logo with a host of projects celebrating this milestone in the next year, the Municipality of Anchorage and Rasmuson Foundation have given specific awards to community organizations for “grass roots” projects throughout the community, from quilts, to plays, to school programs, and many, many others.  The Society is involved in several of the approved projects, including the Symposium project described below. 

Centennial programming will also feature marketing and a number of merchandising opportunities, including an exclusive, numbered centennial print signed by all living mayors, and other celebration merchandise.

Cook Inlet Historical Society Centennial Projects


The Society has been active in centennial planning and is directly sponsoring the following three projects to give focus to this important community milestone:

  1. Lecture Series.  The Society is now well into its second of its two-year centennial series with monthly programming at the Anchorage Museum, described in greater detail on this website.  Last year we featured lectures supporting the Dena'ina Way of Living exhibit and commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Alaska Earthquake.  During 2014-15 we featured lectures on the 50th anniversary of the conclusion of the Cold War, then host a series of lectures to support Museum exhibitions about both Captain Cook and the Centennial.  We have added special programs for July and August 2015 to celebrate the exact date of the centennial, as well as the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Municipality of Anchorage.
  2. Symposium.  In order to give historical focus to the Centennial, the Society is sponsoring a 4-day “Imagining Anchorage” symposium, co-hosted by the Sister Cities Commission, to be held at the Anchorage Museum from June 18-21, 2015.  Please see http://www.cookinlethistory.org/welcome-to-the-symposium.html. Registrations for the symposium are now being accepted, as we recognize two important exhibits at the Museum that will open in the spring 2015: Arctic Ambitions: Captain Cook and the Northwest Passage, as well as Centennial-specific exhibits, City Limits and Take Me Out to the Ballgame.

    At the Symposium the Society will host speakers from around the world, including the director of the Captain Cook Memorial Museum in Whitby, England, our sister city, as well as a host of local speakers about Anchorage’s past 100 years.  We will also support a series of school field trips to the Museum so local students can become more knowledgeable about the Cook and Centennial exhibits.  Finally, our annual offering at the Anchorage Cemetery will focus on the 10 most fascinating and significant Anchorage residents buried in our community cemetery.

    At the same time as the Symposium, Mayor Sullivan and his Centennial Advisory Committee plan both a centennial Gala on Friday evening, June 19, and a summer solstice concert on Saturday evening, June 20.  So after a day of lectures and entertainment at the Museum with the Symposium, attendees can participate in additional centennial programming.  [The Gala and concert require separate registration.]
  3. Legends and Legacies.  John Bagoy’s remarkable on-line exhibition of the early residents of our community is undergoing a facelift and significant expansion.  With the support of grants from the Atwood and Rasmuson Foundations, the Society will be upgrading the software and equipment that displays the project at the Museum’s Alaska History Gallery.  We will also be adding a host of names to the project list and extending the project’s timeline to consider residents of the community before the start of World War II.  See http://www.alaskahistory.org.

The Society was thrilled to lead initial planning of the Centennial project, ensuring the Centennial is truly a community-wide celebration!

Best personal regards, 
James K. Barnett, President 
Cook Inlet Historical Society