Perry’s Victory to Celebrate NPS Centennial and “100 Days to Find Your Park” Initiatives

Date: May 19, 2016
Contact: Alison Lawson, 419-285-2184

Put-in-Bay, Ohio –Throughout the 2016 season Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial will be implementing "100 days To Find Your Park" as part of our celebration of the Centennial of the National Park Service. Beginning with opening day May 21, 2016 the park will highlight an activity each day to help visitors connect to our natural and cultural heritage and our ecology. The "100 days to Find Your Park" initiative will run through August 25, 2015 when we will celebrate this important milestone with a grand celebration.

Also new this year a fee schedule increase from $3 to $5 per person to enter the Memorial Column went into effect in 2016. Entrance fees are still not charged to persons under 16 years of age or holders of the America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Senior, Access, or Military Passes. These passes may be obtained at the park.

Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial will also pilot two new after-hours interpretive programs this summer, a "Stargazing" program hosted by Gene Zajac, and a Sunset Tour with National Park Service rangers;All times and dates to be announced soon. This is a new fee to be collected for interpretive programs which occur after normal hours of operation and require the Memorial to be open. The $20 per person fee is a cost-recovery fee and would allow the park to cover the majority of the costs associated with staffing the Memorial.

"The money from this fee increase will directly benefit our park through improved and expanded visitor services and programs and enhance our ability to maintain park resources for current and future park visitors," said Superintendent Barbara Fearon Superintendent.

Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial is a tribute to both a pivotal U.S. naval victory in the War of 1812 and a lasting peace between former enemies. The memorial consists of a 352 foot high column with an observation deck on South Bass Island in Lake Erie surrounded by 25 acres of beautiful open space. Visible for miles, the monument stands as a reminder not only of the events of the War of 1812, but also as a symbol of international peace between Great Britain, Canada, and the United States. Beginning May 21, 2016 the park is open daily from 10am –6pm.

For more information, please call Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial at [phone] ext. 254, or visit www.nps.gov/pevi.