Date: September 18, 2009
Contact: Eric Leonard, 580 622-7282
From 2:00 – 4:00 P.M. on Sunday, September 27, 2009, a special preview of the upcoming Ken Burns television documentary “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” will be shown at the Travertine Nature Center in the Chickasaw National Recreation Area. Following the preview of the documentary, the park will premiere the director’s cut of a short film, Oka’, produced by KERA which will air September 28 on public broadcasting stations in Oklahoma and Texas following the second episode of the documentary.
This special event is hosted by the park’s new support group, the Friends of Chickasaw National Recreation Area. Refreshments and membership materials will be provided. Park staff will be on hand at the program to comment on the film and answer questions about the park.
The larger documentary series offers an opportunity to explore individual parks found in our region, including the historic Platt National Park. Oka' - a short film by native Oklahoma filmmaker Rick Thompson - focuses attention on the history of the unique freshwater and mineral springs in the Chickasaw National Recreation Area. Although it was the smallest in the system, the former Platt National Park was one of the more frequently visited parks in the early parts of the 20th century. Even today, the renamed national recreation area attracts a million visitors a year. This high-definition film also showcases opportunities on the horizon for the Arbuckle region with the opening of the new Chickasaw Cultural Center in 2010.
“The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” is directed by Ken Burns and produced with his long-time colleague, Dayton Duncan, who also wrote the screenplay. It will be shown on the Public Broadcasting System starting Sunday, September 27, 2009 and runs for six consecutive nights. The film highlights the origins of the idea of preserving and protecting significant lands and resources for future generations. Ken Burns is known for his past award-winning documentaries on the American Civil War, the history of the West, baseball, and jazz, among other fascinating topics.
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.
