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National
Park Service Illuminates 100 Years from
Brooklyn
Bridge Park with One World Trade Center,
Bill
Nye, Questlove, and Secretary Jewell for the #FindYourPark Movement
|
Special Events
Across the U.S. Will Celebrate the NPS 100th Anniversary in August
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Washington,
DC – August 2016 / Newsmaker Alert / On August 22, the National
Park Service and the National
Park Foundation will illuminate the iconic New York City skyline, continuing
the centennial celebration of the National Park Service. With the help
of Bill Nye, Questlove, and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell
- and with a nod to the innovative spirit of Thomas Edison National Historical
Park - the event at Brooklyn
Bridge Park will inspire new generations to discover America’s treasures,
our national parks. The event is the third in the summer long Park Exchange
series for the NPS Centennial, and is part of the #FindYourPark
/ #EncuentraTuParque movement.
Through
a partnership with One World Trade Center and Brooklyn Bridge Park, the
event will allow participants to control the color of the One World Trade
Center Spire for the first time ever by working together to solve interactive,
collaborative puzzles on a giant digital circuit board. For those who want
to follow the excitement remotely, the Statue of Liberty’s webcam
of New York Harbor will offer views of the city courtesy of Earthcam.
The festive day will feature music by Ramblin’ Dan and Questlove, appearances
by Bill Nye, Secretary Jewell and park rangers, along with family-friendly
activities exploring science and innovation. Interactive stations will
encourage visitors to discover national parks and ways to make their own
connections to parks.
Across
the country, National Park Service sites will join the celebration using
Facebook Live as they complete a “virtual park circuit.” The circuit will
start and end at the Brooklyn Bridge Park event site in New York, with
park rangers throughout the country exploring different concepts of innovation,
one park at a time. Each park will in turn tag the next one in the series
and the circuit will be completed with a return to Brooklyn for the last
live post. More information about the Virtual Park Circuit can be found
online here.
“To
celebrate the National Park Service’s 100th birthday, the National Park
Service and the National Park Foundation will bring the creativity and
inventiveness of Thomas Edison National Historical Park to New York City
and connect the innovative spirit to parks across the country,” said Jonathan
B. Jarvis, director of National Park Service. “National parks reflect the
innovative spirit of America, because after all, they embody one of our
nation’s most revolutionary ideas – that some of the most beautiful landscapes,
iconic historic sites and culturally significant places should belong to
every American. As we celebrate the centennial of the National Park Service
this month illuminating the Manhattan skyline reflects this innovative,
progressive American spirit and lights the way for the National Park Service
as we enter our second century of service.”
“The
National Park Service protects over 84 million acres of US soil, from beautiful
landscapes like Yellowstone National Park to important monuments like Stonewall
National Monument,” said Bill Nye, Centennial Ambassador for the Find Your
Park/Encuentra Tu Parque movement. “The event on August 22nd is the perfect
invitation for everyone, from every generation, to be involved with our
national parks.”
The
public is invited to join the centennial festivities at Brooklyn Bridge
Park from 1:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Monday, August 22. The free celebration
will include:
-
1:30 –
3:30 PM – Ice cream social with Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory
-
2:00 –
4:00 PM – Musical performance by kid-friendly band, Ramblin’ Dan
-
5:45 PM
– 6:45 PM – Surprise musical performance
-
7:45 PM
– Opening Remarks with Bill Nye (Centennial Ambassador for the Find
Your Park/Encuentra Tu Parque movement), U.S. Secretary of the Interior
Sally Jewell, Will Shafroth (National Park Foundation President),
Regina Myer (Brooklyn Bridge Park President)
-
8:00 –
10:00 PM – Guest celebrity DJ set by Questlove
-
Family-friendly
activities like sand-art, corn hole, temporary tattoos, games, prizes and
learning stations with National Park Foundation Find Your Park/Encuentra
Tu Parque partners American Express, Subaru, and Coca-Cola. There will
also be interactive stations:
-
American
Express and its nonprofit partner Games for Change will host an interactive
game experience showcasing the new iOS game – Save the Park – where
you play as a park volunteer and experience the conservation activities
that support the national parks. They will also host a special “Smart Parks
Game Jam” in which participants will learn the basics of game design and
prototype games that encourage people to use technology to interact with
parks, showing how games can inspire environmental stewardship and civic
engagement.
-
Subaru
of America who will be on-site to raise awareness of its National Park
Zero-Landfill Initiative, an effort to significantly reduce waste going
into landfills from all national parks, while educating attendees on how
they can help keep the parks beautiful for another 100 years. To further
divert waste from landfills, Subaru will also be collecting soft drink
and water bottle caps that will be recycled into a park bench and donated
to an organization or park in need.
-
The Coca-Cola
Company will showcase their partnership with the National Park Foundation
and the parks by highlighting the Active Trails initiative. Active Trails
promotes getting community members outdoors and active in parks, deepening
connections with local communities, and inspiring the next generation of
park visitors and supporters.
“It’s
not often that someone – or something – celebrates 100 years on this planet.
It’s super cool the National Park Service is celebrating its centennial
by having me DJ their 100th birthday party,” said DJ Questlove, who will
be playing a set at the New York Park Exchange event.
“We
launched the Find Your Park / Encuentra Tu Parque movement to encourage
a new generation to seek out our country’s incredible national parks,”
said Will Shafroth, president of the National Park Foundation, the official
charity of America’s national parks. “As we draw closer to this milestone
anniversary, it is thrilling to see these connections taking root. Millions
of people across the country are discovering that national parks are relevant
to their lives in many ways. The National Park Foundation is committed
to continuing these efforts as we enter the next 100 years of protecting
and sharing these treasures.”
Some
of the most admired companies in the world are supporting the National
Park Foundation’s efforts for #FindYourPark, including American Express,
Budweiser, Subaru, REI, Humana, and Disney. Additional partners include
Coleman and Coca-Cola.
For
each of the three Park Exchange events, a national park experience is conveyed
to – or exchanged with – one of America’s urban centers. The first exchange
in May brought the majesty of Redwoods National and State Parks to the
campus of the University of Texas at Austin and projected the giant trees
on the side of the iconic University of Texas Tower. In June, an exchange
event brought a traditional second line parade from New Orleans Jazz National
Historical Park to another musically rich city Chicago. A calendar of events
taking place across the country to celebrate the National Park Service
Centennial can be found at FindYourPark.com/Find.
The
host and a partner for the New York Park Exchange event, Brooklyn
Bridge Park is an 85-acre sustainable waterfront park stretching 1.3
miles along Brooklyn’s East River shoreline;its mission is to create and
maintain a world class park that is a recreational, environmental and cultural
destination enjoyed by the residents of, and visitors to, New York City.
About
The National Park Service
More
than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 412 national
parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local
history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Visit us at
www.NPS.gov,
on Facebook Facebook.com/nationalparkservice,
Twitter Twitter.com/natlparkservice,
and YouTube YouTube.com/nationalparkservice.
About
The National Park Foundation
The
National Park Foundation is the official charity of America’s national
parks and nonprofit partner to the National Park Service. Chartered by
Congress in 1967, the National Park Foundation raises private funds to
help PROTECT more than 84 million acres of national parks through critical
conservation and preservation efforts, CONNECT all Americans with their
incomparable natural landscapes, vibrant culture and rich history, and
INSPIRE the next generation of park stewards. In 2016, commemorating the
National Park Service’s 100th anniversary, the Foundation launched The
Centennial Campaign for America’s National Parks, a $350 million comprehensive
fundraising campaign to strengthen and enhance the future of these national
treasures for the next hundred years. Find out more and become a part of
the national park community at www.NationalParks.org.
Contact:
Elizabeth Stern, National Park
Service, 202-219-8933
Contact:
Alanna Sobel, National Park
Foundation, 202-796-2538
Contact:
Jenna Newmark, GREY, 212-546-1716 |