OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Special programs are planned in Olympic National Park this month to mark the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary.
The park service was formed Aug. 25, 1916. In celebration, entrance fees at national parks throughout the country will be waived from Thursday, Aug. 25, through Sunday, Aug. 28.
Starting Monday, Music in the American Wild will be offered in concerts. The music and other activities planned this month are free with park entrance fees.
The concerts will be at:
• 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Heart o’ the Hills campground.
• 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center terrace.
• 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday along the Hoh Rain Forest’s Hall of Mosses Trail.
Music in the American Wild is a collaboration featuring seven classical musicians performing original works by 11 composers who will present three free concerts in Olympic National Park.
The concerts are offered in celebration of the National Park Service centennial. Each original composition was inspired by the beauty of national parks.
Who’s who
Music in the American Wild is directed by Emlyn Johnson, flutist. She is joined by six other musicians performing on clarinet, horn, violin, viola, cello and percussion. All of the performers, as well as the composers, are affiliated with the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y.
Earlier this summer, Music in the American Wild completed a performance tour through national parks in several eastern states.
Information about the composers, musicians and other area performances is available at www.musicintheamericanwild.com.
Now in progress is Junior Plein Air Watercolor Contest.
This summer, artists of all ages were invited to express themselves through watercolor on Watercolor Wednesdays at Lake Crescent.
More than 80 paintings by artists from 1 to 18 years old entered their paintings in a Junior Plein Air Watercolor Contest, which has three categories: 1 to 5 years, 6 to 11 years and 12 to 18 years old.
They are on display at the Storm King Ranger Station. Visitors are invited to stop by through this Saturday and vote for their favorites. The ranger station is open today and will be open Wednesday through Saturday.
The first-place painting in each category will be displayed at the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center on Aug. 24 during the free public Paint the Peninsula artists reception.
Following the reception, all Junior Plein Air Watercolors will be on display at the Storm King Ranger Station Wednesdays through Saturdays through Sept. 4.
On Saturday will be the Centennial Olympics at the Kalaloch Ranger Station.
Games and activities will be offered from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
From Saturday through Aug. 28, visitors can pick up Centennial Birthday cards at the Kalaloch Ranger Station to send to the National Park Service.
The cards and a special ranger cabin mailbox for posting birthday wishes will be available there from 9 a.m to 5 p.m. daily.
On Aug. 23, Paint the Peninsula artists will be at work at various locations throughout the park all day.
On Aug. 24, Paint the Peninsula artist demonstrations are planned during the day before the reception and awards reception that evening.
Demonstrations will be at:
• Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center terrace at 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
• Storm King Ranger Station at 3 p.m.
• Lake Crescent Lodge at 3 p.m.
The Paint the Peninsula Reception and Awards Presentation will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, 1203 E. Lauridsen Blvd., Port Angeles.
The free reception will feature paintings created within Olympic National Park, including the Junior Plein Air Watercolors, and visits with artists and Olympic National Park staff.
On Aug. 25 — the anniversary of the National Park Service — more artist demonstrations are planned in the Lake Crescent area.
Visitors will be able to watch and talk with plein air artists as they demonstrate their skills at Storm King Ranger Station and Lake Crescent Lodge at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
A drop-in birthday party is set from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Storm King Ranger Station.
Visitors can help create a giant birthday banner with fabric markers, walk the Marymere Falls trail and stop at a free-style art station and see filmmaker Eliza Goode’s “The Smell of Cedars Steeped in Rain,” a 12-minute film on Olympic National Park.
Between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., Clark Driese, a Port Angeles-based guitarist, singer and songwriter, will perform acoustic music on the Storm King Ranger Station porch.
At 7 p.m., storytelling will be featured at the NatureBridge campus on Lake Crescent.
Professional storytellers Ingrid Nixon and Rebecca Horn will tell tales.
The second half of the program will offer an opportunity for people to share their own stories about a national park experience.
Birthday cake and refreshments will be served at intermission.
At 8 p.m., a one-hour program telling of the last 100 years of the park service will begin at the Kalaloch Campground amphitheater.
The program will conclude with a birthday cake and celebration.
On Aug. 27 will be more Centennial Olympics between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. at the Kalaloch Ranger Station.
For information about the park, see nps.gov/olym; follow the park on Twitter @OlympicNP, on Facebook at OlympicNPS and Instagram @olympicnational park; or subscribe to the park’s YouTube channel.
