Karen Haas, a Humanities Washington Inquiring Minds presenter, will portray Narcissa Whitman at the Fort Columbia Theater this coming weekend. Submitted photo

CHINOOK, Wash. – In the coming month there will be three different programs at Fort Columbia State Park’s historic riverfront theater. It’s exciting to see this venue being used for a variety of programs; its ambience complements a wide variety of programming. I encourage you to come out to the fort and see what the buzz is about.

This coming weekend, Karen Haas will be presenting “Narcissa Whitman: a Lady at the Crossroads.” This first-person living history event will reveal insight from a personal perspective on the challenges, joys and sorrows experienced by the Whitman family. The Whitmans had established a mission in what is now Walla Walla, Wash., back when it was still the Oregon Country. She is considered the first European-American to cross the Rocky Mountains. Her life ended tragically in 1847 when she and her family were killed by frustrated and angered natives of the area. Find out the rest of the story Saturday night, starting at 6:30 p.m. This program is free and open to the public due to a partnership between Washington State Parks and Humanities Washington.

The following weekend, there will be the second open mic event of the year also held at the theater at Fort Columbia State Park. The last poetry, music and storytelling event was a great time with very talented locals expressing themselves to an appreciative audience. The open mic scheduled for April 26 will be hosted by local poet John Kulm and will be supported by Washington State Parks and the Espy Foundation. So dig through your journals and bring something to share.

Washington State Parks is a new partner of the local Loyalty Days commemoration this year. Living historians portraying members of Battery G will be scattered around the fort May 3 and 4, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This professional group will be in full uniform acting as if the fort was still an active military reservation. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the Coastal Artillery Corps and the role they played in protecting the homeland during the world wars.

A very special program called “We Remember: A Salute to our Veterans” will be held at the Fort Columbia State Park theater on Saturday, May 3, from 2 to 3 p.m. This event will show respect to our local veterans. The program will feature an interpretive slide show discussing the many layers of local military history in our area. Lieutenant Hobbe from Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment will give a lecture on the role of the Coast Guard, past and present. The 133rd Army band will be playing patriotic selections to complement the program’s theme.

I hope you can join us in celebrating our local history and culture by attending one or more of these three events held at Fort Columbia in the next couple of weeks. There is no charge for any of these events.

Jon Schmidt is an Interpretive Specialist at Cape Disappointment State Park. To contact him, call the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at (360) 642-3029 or email lcic@parks.wa.gov