Date: April 17, 2009
Contact: Great Smoky Mountains Assoc., (865) 436-7318, Ext 22
The Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is scheduled April 22-26, 2009, and consists of a variety of outdoor and indoor programs. The daily venues that cover over 150 wildflower and wildlife walks, talks, and photographic tours in the Park will require that persons register in advance. The five-day event is headquartered at the W.L. Mills Conference Center in Gatlinburg, Tenn., and is where registration will take place.
This year’s 59th pilgrimage is a tribute to Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s 75th Anniversary. In honor of this occasion, premier evening presentations and speakers are planned, including an engagement by a Nobel Prize winning author.
The featured evening presentations are free to the public, do not require registration, and will be held in the Conference Center. They include:
Wednesday, April 22
7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Climate Change and Global Warming – Join Tom Peterson, climate scientist for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and lead author on the Nobel Prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fourth Assessment Report, discussing global warming and the future.
Thursday, April 23
5 p.m. - 7:15 p.m.
Smokies Life Magazine Reception and Celebration with hors d’oeuvres, cash bar and door prizes of magazine memorabilia – Come meet the authors, photographers, designers, illustrators, and editors behind the impressive new Great Smoky Mountains Association Smokies Life Magazine and get your copies signed.
7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Keepers of History: An Evening with Smokies Historians Margaret Lynn Brown, Michael Frome and Daniel Pierce. Enjoy an open discussion, moderated by Bruce Wheeler, between these distinguished authors who wrote the three most significant and comprehensive environmental histories of the Great Smoky Mountains. They will talk about the past and future of the Smokies. Margaret Brown authored The Wild East: A Biography of the Great Smoky Mountains; Michael Frome wrote Strangers in High Places: the Story of the Great Smoky Mountains; and Daniel Pierce’s work was entitled The Great Smokies: From Natural Habitat to National Park.
Friday, April 24
7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Butterflies and Wildflowers: Beauty, Grace and Drama – Dr. Jeff Glassberg will enlighten the audience with the natural history of butterflies through his extensive knowledge and works. He is founder and president of the North American Butterfly Association and a past president of Xerces Society; editor of American Butterflies Magazine; and author of the Butterflies through Binoculars series, Butterflies of North America, and Birds of North America.
Registration for the daily field trips will be held at the Conference Center April 21-25, starting Tuesday: 5 p.m.-9 p.m.; Wednesday-Friday: 7:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.; and Saturday: 7:00 a.m.-1 p.m. Registration fees are: Adults: $30.00 for one day; $50.00 for two or more days; students: $10.00 for one or more days (must be verified by ID); and children under 12 are free, but must be accompanied by a registered adult and also registered for the programs.
In addition, Wednesday evening from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts will host a reception for the winner of the 2008’s art contest, Andrea Wilson whose original watercolor is the winning image on this year’s pilgrimage brochure, website, and T-shirts.
More detailed information and a list of all the programs can be obtained by visiting the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage website at www.springwildflowerpilgrimage.org or by calling (865) 436-7318, Ext 222.
