San Juan Island National Historical Park presents special programs to commemorate 160th anniversary of boundary crisis

— from Brandon Cadwell for San Juan Island National Historical Park —

San Juan Island National Historical Park will be presenting a series of special programs from August 22 – 25, 2019 to commemorate the 160^th anniversary of the 1859 Boundary Crisis known as the “Pig War.” The peaceful actions in response to the crisis ensured that no national battlefield need to exist and that diplomacy is always the best action forward.

The special programming is as scheduled:

Thursday, August 22: Former park historian, Mike Vouri, presents an evening talk at the Pickett House about famed leader, George Pickett, and his role in the building crisis that brought the country to the brink of war. Program begins at 6 p.m.

Friday, August 23: Park staff and volunteers lead tours of the Pickett House. This will be the first weekend for the house to be open following restoration efforts of the interior of the building re-establishing the historic look of the structure. Program runs from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Saturday, August 24: Join us at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art for an artist’s reception for Artist-in-Residence, Linda Hyatt Cancel who created a full exhibition of work to commemorate the park and the 160^th anniversary of the crisis. The reception runs from 2-4 p.m. and the admission fee is waived during this time.

Saturday, August 24: English Camp hosts a Music by the Bay concert featuring Vocal Few. Throughout the join occupation of the island during Pig War, many concerts and community performances were frequent at English Camp. In that legacy, we continue to invite music and the arts in the park. Vocal Few is a Seattle area based singer/songwriter, folk pop duo singing songs about travel, change, dreams, and heartache. Concert runs 6:30 – 8 p.m. at the English Camp Parade Grounds.

Sunday, August 25: Park staff and volunteers will be leading tours of the Pickett House. This will be the first weekend for the house to be open following restoration efforts of the interior of the building re-establishing the historic look of the structure. Program runs from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.