Date: June 27, 2017
Contact: Bob Cromwell, Chief of Interpretation, 360-816-6253
The National Park Service welcomes you to Fort Vancouver National Historic Site to celebrate Independence Day! Due to the Independence Day at Fort Vancouver event, visitors’ cars will not be permitted to enter or park in the park on July 4. However, all park facilities, including the Visitor Center, the reconstructed Fort Vancouver, and Pearson Air Museum, will be open to pedestrian access after visitors enter through one of the three security checked gates.
As the fireworks show will not start until 10 pm, the park facilities will be open later than usual, with both Fort Vancouver and Pearson Air Museum operating from 12 pm to 8 pm, and the park’s Visitor Center and Bookstore operating from 12 pm to 5 pm. The usual fees will apply to enter the fort ($5.00 for adults, children 15 and under are free), while there is no fee to enter the Visitor Center or Pearson Air Museum.
National Park Service staff and volunteers will be dressed in period costumes throughout the reconstructed fort to help bring the site to life and present the lifeways of the 19th century fur trade. The Visitor Center and Pearson Air Museum will have exhibits and films available for viewing as well.
The non-profit, Friends of Fort Vancouver National Historic Site will operate the bookstore at the park’s Visitor Center from 12 pm to 5 pm, and they will also be operating a sales tent area on E. 5th Street, adjacent to the main entry path to the fort from 12 pm to 8 pm.
Visitors are also welcome to take a flight in a vintage 1930 bi-plane which will be operating from the taxiway adjacent to Pearson Air Museum. The operator, Nostalgic Warbird & Biplane Rides, piloted by Mike Carpentiero will be operating throughout the day. For more information on the costs of bi-plane rides, please visit http://nostalgicwarbirdrides.com/, or call (512) 203-2341.
What: Independence Day at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. Learn more about this event, produced by the Fort Vancouver National Trust, at http://4th.fortvan.org/
Where: Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, including the reconstructed Hudson’s Bay Company Fort Vancouver, the Visitor Center, and Pearson Air Museum
When: Tuesday, July 4, 2017, 12 pm to 8 pm
Cost: Entrance to the reconstructed Fort Vancouver is $5.00 for adults and free for children 15 and under. All interagency (America the Beautiful) passes are honored. Pearson Air Museum and the Visitor Center are free of charge.
