National Get Outdoors Day (GO Day) will bring community partners together to celebrate healthy, active, outdoor fun at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site (NHS) from 10 am to 3 pm, Saturday, June 11, 2016. Held on public lands throughout the country, National Get Outdoors Day is a free, family-friendly event promoting healthy, active, outdoor fun.
The National Park Service’s annual Brigade Encampment, a component of GO Day, re-enacts the return of the fur brigades to Fort Vancouver, illuminating how day-to-day survival skills of trappers in the 1840s have become recreational pursuits today, and how our relationships to the natural world have changed over time.
GO Day at Fort Vancouver NHS brings over 40 city, county, and federal land management agencies, non-profits, and outdoor-based businesses together to introduce the public to fun outdoor activities. As an urban national park, Fort Vancouver NHS serves as an ideal gateway to national parks, forests, trails, and other public lands. Hands-on activities will include fishing, archery, and rock climbing. Booths and food vendors will be lined along East Fifth Street, in front of Pearson Air Museum.
“Hosting Vancouver’s Get Outdoors Day at Fort Vancouver allows us to partner with other national parks in the region,” said Park Ranger Bobby Gutierrez. “Park rangers from Mount Rainier National Park, Nez Perce National Historical Park, and Olympic National Park will be on-hand to share fantastic opportunities for outdoor recreation in our Northwest national parks. 2016 marks the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, and it’s a perfect time to get outdoors and find your park.” In addition, park rangers from Fort Vancouver will share a special hands-on exhibit exploring the history of 19th century naturalists at the fort, as well as native flora and fauna.
Partners of GO Day at Fort Vancouver NHS include the US Forest Service, the City of Vancouver, Clark County, the National Park Service, Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation, and the Parks Foundation of Clark County.
The national park’s annual Brigade Encampment re-enacts the return of Hudson’s Bay Company fur brigades to Fort Vancouver. Costumed re-enactors will demonstrate cooking, crafts, games, dances, and music of the 1840s. Hands-on, family-friendly activities will be featured. Black powder demonstrations of replica 1840s weaponry will also take place.
“The Brigade Encampment speaks to an important chapter in Pacific Northwest history, and the public at GO Day can speak with volunteer re-enactors as they demonstrate the rugged lives of fur traders and their families. The Encampment also serves as a reminder that not so long ago, camping was not a recreational activity, but rather an essential way of life,” said Superintendent Tracy Fortmann.
Fortmann further noted that, “GO Day, which is a US Forest Service national event, brings together multiple land managing agencies, and nonprofit and profit organizations to provide a lively day-long, free event chock full of vendors, activities and opportunities that embrace the recreational and health benefits that outdoor activities provide us.”
The Brigade Encampment will take place on the Great Meadow, just north of East Fifth Street and across from Pearson Air Museum, from 10 am to 3 pm. For more information, the public should contact the park Visitor Center by calling 360-816-6230.
