Celebrate Filipino American History Month and National Public Lands Day With Free Admission to San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

Date: September 21, 2015
Contact: Lynn Cullivan, 415-561-7006

Ranger-Led Program and Presentations by  Local Writers and Poets on Saturday, September 26

San Francisco, CA – Get an early start on Filipino American History Month, learn about the rich and complex legacy of Filipino Americans in SF Bay Area history and culture, and help celebrate National Public Lands Day with free admission to San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park on Saturday September 26, 2015.

From 2:15-3:00pm, park rangers will present a history program aboard the 1886 Balclutha to help visitors understand the economic and social forces operating during that vessel’s career in the Alaskan salmon industry – a time of transition from the nation’s agricultural roots to a sort of maritime Fordism of salmon acquisition, processing, and consumption. Then from 3:00-4:30pm, Filipino American History Month writers and poets will take the stage to explore what it means to be Filipino today.

Guests for the Filipino American History Month portion of the program include: Joanna Matys, fresh from UC Santa Cruz and “ready to take on the patriarchal muck of society, one humble step at a time”;  Sean Manzano, whose work has been published in Leonard Cohen: You’re Our Man, Chain, Bay Poetics, and The Best American Poetry 2004; Edwin Lozada, president of Philippine American Writers and Artists, a Fullbright-Hayes scholar and a past recipient of a SF Arts Commission Individual Artist Commissions Grant; Abigail Licad, a 1.5-generation Filipino American who studied literature at UC Berkeley and Oxford University; and Oscar Penaranda, recipient of the Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas Award from the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas, and one of the founders, and first president, of the SF Chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society.

National Public Lands Day debuted in 1994 to promote the enjoyment and conservation of public lands. Typically held on the last day of September, National Public Lands Day attracts more than 175,000 volunteers to build and maintain trails, restore habitat, plant trees, remove litter, and enhance stewardship.

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is located at the west end of Fisherman’s Wharf and includes a fleet of historic ships at Hyde Street Pier, Visitor Center, Maritime Museum, Maritime Research Center, and the Aquatic Park Historic District. Join us in celebrating National Public Lands Day, Filipino American History Month, and the 2016 Centennial milestone in person, by telephone [phone], online nps.gov/safr on Twitter @SFMaritimeNPS, and on Facebookfacebook.com/SanFranciscoMaritimeNHP

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9-16-15