My, how fast time flies.
Seems like just, well 100 years ago, that our big hole in the ground was designated a national park. On Tuesday, Feb. 26, we celebrate the century landmark.
But 100 years is kind of a big deal. Why limit the party to just one day?
In Arizona, we’re doing it big — not quite as big as our Canyon that spreads out over 1,217,262 acres, which in miles we’re talking about 277, and plummets more than a mile at its deepest point. But throughout the year, there will be everything from art exhibits to concerts including:
- Ongoing exhibit: “Splendor and Spectacle: the 100 Year Journey of Grand Canyon National Park,” curated by the Northern Arizona University NAU Cline Library and Grand Canyon National Park Museum Collections. It runs through September at NAU’s Cline Library in Flagstaff.
- Green Valley hosts actor Derek Evans’ one-man show “Teddy Roosevelt: The Man in the Arena” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, at Green Valley’s Community Performance & Art Center, 1250 W. Continental Road. President Roosevelt declared the Grand Canyon a National Monument, saying, “The ages had been at work on it, and man can only mar it.” Call 520-339-1750 for show tickets.
- Tucson Symphony Orchestra performs Grofe’s Grand Canyon Suite against the backdrop of a film co-commissioned with the Phoenix Symphony on March 2-3 at Tucson Music Hall.
- Imagine reciting the pledge of citizenship surrounded by those breathtaking, majestic red rock canyon walls. That’s what will happen on April 16 when the Grand Canyon National Park and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Phoenix field office host a naturalization ceremony at the Canyon’s Mather Amphitheater. A second ceremony will be held Sept. 28.
- We love us some free stuff: Admission to the park is free on April 20. It’s also free on Aug. 25, Sept. 28 and Nov. 11.
- Kiddos, this one’s for you. The Junior Ranger Day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on June 22 lets you explore the park and get some cool trinkets to commemorate the experience. You also get a chance to see if maybe you want to be a ranger when you grow up.
- One of the reasons we love, love, love the Grand Canyon is the sky view. There is nothing more exhilarating for night sky gazers than seeing those stars twinkle above the Canyon’s expanse. For eight days in June — June 22-29 — the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association and Phoenix’s Saguaro Astronomy Club are setting their telescopes up at opposite ends of the Canyon to let us gaze into the night at planets, star clusters, nebulae and faraway galaxies. Meet at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center.
- Experience how the Canyon has influenced artists at the 11th Annual Celebration of Art Sept. 7-15 on the Canyon’s South Rim. Part of the money raised from the sale of the works will help fund a dedicated art venue on the South Rim.
Source: National Park Service
El Tovar Hotel as seen from the roof of Hopi House around 1922. Native employees pose on different levels of the roof. Fred Harvey touring cars are parked around the entrance loop.
Grand Canyon National Park’s centennial will be celebrated with a museum exhibit, orchestral performances and a special citizenship ceremony. Above, boaters run the Lava Falls Rapids.
A man and a woman riding mules on the Grand View Trail in the Grand Canyon, ca. 1906.
A spring snowstorm blankets the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, on Saturday, April 9, 2011.
Bright Angel Point, ca. 1922.
Tourists to the Grand Canyon get a taste of the old west riding the Bright Angel Trail on mules in December 2000.
Bright Angel suspension bridge, viewed upstream from the north bank in 1923.
Improved Mather Point and and Visitor Center Plaza in 2008.
Horse and rider at the Grand Canyon in 1955.