Sacajawea Heritage Days

Randy Kirkbride ~ Dedicated TCDPC Member

Schedule: -Saturday 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Field Trip Guide(s): Randy Kirkbride

Guide Bio: Randy Kirkbride is a chemical engineer by education and a serious amateur photographer as a passion (and as a coping mechanism to offset the engineering side of the brain). Randy has been interested in camera’s and photography for more than 45 years, starting with a Kodak Instamatic and using or experimenting with 35 mm and medium and large format film along the way to the present digital age. His “bent” is toward landscape and nature photography and he confesses to a strong attraction for old buildings and historical sites. He also encourages others to join in his “addiction” by teaching beginning photography classes for the members of the Tri-City Digital Photography Club, and which are open to the public. Randy took pictures and video of the 2011 Heritage Days event for the host organization, the Mid-Columbia Traditional Arts and Music Association (MCTAMA), and has a friend who brings a circa 1908 Port Huron steam tractor to the event to demonstrate the industrial revolution. He is very familiar with the inner workings of the Heritage Days Events and will make a great guide so ask questions and try to stump him!

Sacajawea Heritage Days 2011 - Photo by: Randy Kirkbride

Description Courtesy of the Mid Columbia Traditional Arts & Music Association: The event was first presented in 2003 by the local Lewis & Clark Bicenntennial Council, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Voyage of Discovery. Mid-Columbia Traditional Arts and Music Association has presented the event since 2006, and we hope you love this event as much as we do.

Its purpose is to learn about and re-enact the life and skills of the the early American explorers, the Native American cultures they found along the way, and the lives of the early settlers. Heritage Days runs for two days, Friday through Saturday. Friday is dedicated to receiving school children and letting them see and touch what used to be. Saturday is when most people show up to experience the past.

There are Lewis & Clark re-enactors, members of the Umatilla and Yakama Nations, and the Wanapums, along with mountain man encampments, local museums, and other people who enjoy sharing their skills and knowledge about what life was like nearly two centuries ago. On Saturday night there is a bonfire and many people who are encamped at the park as well as many more show up to play music, sing, tell stories, and just have a good time. The campfire program starts at around 7:30 PM

Here is an idea of what you might find at this years Sacajawea Heritage Days.

2011 Heritage Days Poster and Park Handout: