The Imagining Anchorage Symposium, a four-day event in honor of the founding of Anchorage, will take place June 18-20. It includes a Thursday evening, June 18, reception at the Anchorage Museum for the Mayors of Whitby, England, and Anchorage, Alaska; a series of lectures with international speakers on the subject of Captain James Cook’s Third Voyage on Friday, June 19; and a separate Anchorage Symposium on the city’s past and prospects for the next 100 years on Saturday, June 20. Charles Wohlforth, local author who has written the official centennial publication, From the Shores of Ship Creek, Stories of Anchorage’s First 100 Years, as well as Dr. Sophie Forgan, Chairman of the Trustees, Captain Cook Memorial Museum in Whitby, England, are among the speakers.
If you have not yet registered for the symposium ($85 for Cook Inlet Historical Society members; $95 non-members), the fillable registration form can be found at: http://www.cookinlethistory.org/registration-form.html
Thursday, June 18 through Saturday, June 20
Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, 625 C Street
All Symposium events, except for the John Bagoy Memorial Cemetery Tour, will be held at the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, 625 C Street, Anchorage, AK 99501.
There is an excellent turnout of former and current Anchorage mayors for the “Coffee with the Mayors” conversation (Saturday, June 20, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM), among many other important centennial events.
Schedule:
Thursday evening: June 18:
Reception for Mayor Heather Coughlan, Whitby, England–6-7 pm, Anchorage Museum Atrium (with Mayors Sullivan and Berkowitz); by invitation and for all symposium registrants. Hosted by Mayor Dan Sullivan, Cook Inlet Historical Society and Anchorage Sister Cities Commission.
Followed by lecture from Dr. Sophie Forgan: “James Cook from Whitby”. 7:30 – 9:00 pm, Museum Auditorium, symposium registrants only.
Friday, June 19: Lectures on Captain Cook’s Third Voyage and his Visit to Alaska (1778):
Anchorage Museum Auditorium (9:00 am to 4:30 pm):
Saturday, June 20, The Anchorage Centennial (1915-2015), Anchorage Museum:
Also includes: Buffet Lunch and Book Signing
Two Optional Break Out Panels–1.30 – 3.00 PM
Lecture: Mr. Charles Wohlforth–“Searching for the Heart of Anchorage: Reflections on Writing the Centennial History”–3.00 – 4.30 PM
June 21, Sunday night (Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery):
21st ANNUAL SUMMER SOLSTICE TOUR, 7 pm–enter at John Bagoy Gate, 7th and Cordova Streets, Downtown Anchorage
The Symposium is a community-wide event supported by an Anchorage Centennial Community Grant awarded by the Municipality of Anchorage’s Anchorage Centennial Commission and the Alaska Humanities Forum, with major funding support from the Municipality of Anchorage and the Rasmuson Foundation. Other support is provided by the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, Hotel Captain Cook, Odom Corporation, and from private donors.