Oak Ridge, Tenn. – (June 4, 2008) – Wander off the beaten path during this year’s 6th Annual Secret City Festival, June 20 – 21, for some additional fun-filled activities. Better yet, take one of the designated shuttles in order to find your way around more quickly and easily.
The American Museum of Science & Energy (AMSE) has a ton of exciting things going on this year. First of all, they have a special discounted rate of $3 per person during the 2 days of the festival. So make sure you take this opportunity to visit this fascinating museum and its newly remodeled Oak Ridge Story permanent exhibit to learn all about the history of Oak Ridge and its role in the Manhattan Project.
AMSE is collaborating with the Oak Ridge Heritage & Preservation Association (ORHPA) to do a special exhibit spotlighting the preservation efforts of the area. Showcased in the AMSE lobby will be a special exhibition on Oak Ridge’s wartime buildings constructed in the 1940’s and the preservation efforts being proposed. Visitors will get a glimpse into the history of each structure and why preservation is necessary to further tell the greatest story of the 20th Century.
To further relate the geography of the area’s Manhattan Project sites, visitors can view framed topographic maps of Oak Ridge prepared in 1947 for the Atomic Energy Commission. Through these maps, see how Oak Ridge appeared before the 1949 public opening of the city’s gates.
Children of all ages can test their skills in sports such as basketball, tennis, soccer, and football, while learning about math and physics in the “TEAM UP! Explore Science & Sports” traveling exhibition of 13 activity stations at AMSE from June 1 – August 31. Sports enthusiasts can discover their pitching speed in a radar-equipped booth, experiment with balance using pommel-horse and balance beam interactives, discover the correct angle and amount of force needed to bounce a basketball to a teammate, and more.
Also going on at AMSE will be a Manhattan Project reunion and Sister Secret City talks between preservationists from Oak Ridge; Hanford, WA; and Los Alamos, NM. AMSE will also be the loading site for the Department of Energy Facilities Bus Tour on Friday afternoon, the X-10 Graphite Reactor Tours on Saturday, and the K-25 Heritage Center History Trail Tours on Saturday. For exact dates and times, visit www.SecretCityFestival.com. (U.S. Citizens aged 10+ only for Friday tour and X-10 Tours. Valid U.S. Drivers License required.)
With all that is going on, you might spend the whole day at AMSE, but don’t forget to venture over to Historic Jackson Square for the 10th Annual Lavender Festival, taking place Saturday from 8 am to 3 pm. The sweet aroma of lavender will be wafting through the air as 70 vendors will be touting their recipes, giving demonstrations on herbal cooking and crafts, and teaching visitors how to grow and heal with lavender.
The herb fair will also feature contemporary folk, bluegrass and Celtic music throughout the day. And a special booth will focus on the herb of the year, calendula. Children’s activities will be hosted by the new Art & Craft Corner in Manhattan Place, and the Farmer’s Market at Jackson Square will also be open that day with special cooking demonstrations going on during the morning.
Also away from the festival grounds are the Golf Tournament, taking place Tuesday, June 17 at Centennial Golf Course, and the Tennis Tournament, taking place at Jackson Square Courts June 20 – 21. To sign up for the Golf Tournament, call 483-1321. Players of the Tennis Tournament will be encouraged to wear all white clothes and play their matches with white tennis balls, representing the attire and equipment used in the 1940’s. To sign up for the tennis tournament, call 389-5176.
While most of the bus tours will be leaving from the AMSE parking lot during the festival weekend, a new loading point for the Y-12 tours is the New Hope Visitors Center. Festival-goers should follow the signs to the Center, park their cars, and hop on one of the waiting buses. Tours will last one hour and will begin approximately every 30 minutes. During wait time, the Y-12 History Exhibit Hall will be open, where visitors can view video histories of Y-12 and artifacts from the New Hope community, the Manhattan Project era, the Cold War era and modern missions of Y-12. DVD’s, booklets, pamphlets, and postcards will be available for visitors as well. (U.S. Citizens only. Passport or original birth certificate required.)
And down at the K-25 site, the Secret City Excursion Train will be chugging along Saturday, June 21 at 11 am, 1 pm and 3 pm. The Southern Appalachian Railway Museum, which runs the train, will have a booth at the festival site, where they will take reservations for the 1-hour rides. The train travels through the former Manhattan Project complex past the K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant, toward the Poplar Creek watershed of Roane County. For more on this historic and scenic ride, call 241-2140.
The 6th Annual Secret City Festival is presented by the City of Oak Ridge, the Oak Ridge Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the Arts Council of Oak Ridge. This year’s festival sponsors are B&W Y-12 and the City of Oak Ridge, and the media sponsors are The Oak Ridger, Lamar Outdoor Advertising, WBIR-TV, Comcast, and BBB Communications. For more information and a full schedule of events, visit www.SecretCityFestival.com or call the information line at (865) 425-3610.
Contact: Nicky Reynolds