Staff and volunteers at the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum have announced a packed schedule for the museum’s 18th anniversary party Saturday, May 18.
“In addition to our usual fun events, informative displays, music and activities on this special day,” said General Manager Rob Peterson, “this year we are focusing on celebrating the contributions of our Native American friends and neighbors, with help in the form of a generous contribution from BNSF Railroad. For example, our temporary gallery will feature Native American artists now through July. We will welcome some local native fishermen and if the run picks up we hope to have smoked salmon samples for everyone. A number of our friends will be here in authentic costume, including Marilynn Weaver, who will give one of her popular Native American legends presentations.”
May 18 is a free day for visitors and also scheduled that day is the Whiskey Flats Band, led by Mark McCormick, band teacher in the Stevenson-Carson School District. In keeping with the history theme of the day, he said he will focus his selections on 19th century music. Local logging equipment collector and restorer Erin Howell will lead a team of volunteers operating examples of various historic machines, some more than 100 years old and still working.
The museum staff and volunteers will be manning a food booth selling typical favorites like hamburgers and hotdogs, but augmented with some now-famous strawberry shortcake, produced under the close supervision of Gloria Howell. In the main lobby visitors will get a chance to watch local traditional hand-crafters creating products such as wool, bead work and quilts. Following the annual meeting at 2 p.m., where museum members will vote on a slate of new board members, Social Insecurity will perform. They are a musical comedy quartet invited back by popular demand.
For more information, please call the museum at 509-427-8211. The museum is located at 990 SW Rock Creek Drive, Stevenson.
