Centennial Festivities

Date: August 18, 2016
Contact: Maureen McGee-Ballinger, 605-574-3115

Keystone, South Dakota – Centennial Celebrations are in full swing! Beginning Saturday August 20 with the Find Your Park Festival through Friday August 26 a variety of celebrations are being held both in Rapid City and at Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

Main Street Square in Rapid City on Saturday August 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Mount Rushmore Society is sponsoring a Find Your Park Festival. Learn about your backyard, visit a variety of booths and participate in activities focused on your national, state and local outdoor organizations. Junior Rangers can participate in a special passport program, meet Smokey Bear in the afternoon and enjoy the music of Phil Baker. 

Founders Week at Mount Rushmore National Memorial offers multiple ways to celebrate. Daily Monday through Friday, August 22 - 26th at 11:00 a.m. meet a park ranger on the Grand View Terrace to join a walk chronicling the first 100 years of the National Park Service. Experience duct tape art at the Lincoln Borglum Visitor Center or share a park memory or birthday wish at multiple stops throughout the park. 

On the Centennial Day, August 25, join additional festivities. Shake hands with Theodore Roosevelt, reenactor Gib Young, who will be roving throughout the park posing for photographs and presenting a program at 2 p.m. in the Lincoln Borglum Visitor Center. Xanterra will have a special event from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on the Carver's Café patio and beginning at 2:30 p.m. enjoy a slice of centennial birthday cake and Thomas Jefferson ice cream courtesy of Xanterra. 

The August 25 evening program will begin at 7:40 p.m. with a focus on the National Park Service Centennial. Start thinking about your favorite place, learn about the history of the National Park Service, hear what Theodore Roosevelt has to say and consider the future of the National Park Service. Join us as we begin our next century! 

Please check at the Information Center for a schedule of special events. Programming and hours are weather dependent. For additional information, please visit Mount Rushmore National Memorial's official website at www.nps.gov/moru or call [phone].