Celebrate Freedom Series Events
November 5, 2011
Starts at 11 a.m.
Click HERE for the 2011 Parade Participant Line-Up
Click HERE for the 2011 Participant Staging Map
For 25 years, Vancouver has honored veterans with this annual Department of Veteran Affairs sanctioned parade, presented by the Lough Legacy with support from Creekside Mortgage. The parade starts with an Air Force fly-over and 21-gun salute fired by Howitzer cannons from the Parade Ground of the Fort Vancouver National Site. Participating bands, military and veteran units, community organizations and dozens of scout troops continue marching along Officers Row, turn south at the traffic circle to follow Fort Vancouver Way through the Vancouver Barracks, then turn east onto Fifth Street to pass in front of the reconstructed Fort Vancouver and end at the Pearson Air Museum. The parade route will NOT go through downtown Vancouver this year and will not end at Esther Short Park.
This year's 25th annual parade will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. More information about how the Civil War will be commemorated will be available soon, so
check back!
2011 ENTRY FORM Complete the form online, print, sign and return it to the Fort Vancouver National Trust via email, fax or mail. The initial deadline of October 7 has passed, but you can still march in the parade!
Click HERE for a map of the 2011 parade route!
More than 100 military, veteran and civic organizations and 2,500 individuals participate in the parade. Join us in 2011 for one of the largest veterans parades on the West coast.
Presented with support from:
Flag Day at Fort Vancouver
June 14, 2011
Join us for the 2011 Flag Day at Fort Vancouver Celebration at the Bandstand on the Fort Vancouver National Site Parade Ground. Presented by Veolia Water, this celebration features live patriotic music, community participation in the Annual National Pause for the Pledge of Allegiance, a special presentation by Marshall Elementary fifth grade students, and the second annual Clark County May
ors' Patriotic Tie Compeition! Thanks to our in-kind sponsors, attendees will be treated to pizza from Papa Murphy's, chips from Frito-Lay, rootbeer and water from Corwin Beverage Company, and flags from Elmer's Flag and Banner Supply!
View the 2010 Flag Day Ceremony
Click HERE to learn more about Flag Day at Fort Vancouver!
The General George C. Marshall Lecture
May 20, 2010:
Jonathan B. Jarvis, Director of the National Park Service, presented the General George C. Marshall Lecture
Click here for photos of the Marshall Lecture with Jon Jarvis
Click here for details
General Marshall's tenure at the Vancouver Barracks and his unparalleled record of exemplary public service left an indelible impression on our community, where he remains greatly revered. His legacy was the catalyst for our Celebrate Freedom programs. The Marshall Lecture is the centerpiece of these patriotic programs, established in Vancouver in 1989 to foster public service, leadership, patriotism, and to honor the rich heritage of our community.
Each year we invite a national leader to deliver the Marshall Lecture to some 5,000 students and community members in attendance, and it is also broadcast to more than a million Northwest regional viewers through education television networks and other cable broadcasting channels. The lecture is delivered at Hudson Bay High School, which is located adjacent to the 366-acre Fort Vancouver National Site campus.
The past lecturers form a distinguished group, who each reflected on General Marshall's legacy with great personal perspective for our future. These have included, at the time of their address: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin Powell; Ambassador Rozanne Ridgway; Ambassador Paul Nitze; Ambassador Bill Richardson; Secretary of State Madeleine Albright; Senator Daniel Inouye; Rt. Honorable Christopher Patten; Rear Admiral (Ret.) and American Red Cross President, Marsha Evans; NBC Nightly News Anchor Tom Brokaw, who joined us in Vancouver along with 56 of the individuals profiled in his book, The Greatest Generation, Chief of Staff for the Department of Veterans Affairs Lt. General Claude M. Kicklighter (Ret.), and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace.
In 1998, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright called the Marshall Lecture "one of the most prestigious lecture series in the United States." This signature Celebrate Freedom event provides an opportunity to witness history in the making as world class speakers deliver relevant remarks on world affairs, with a Marshall influence.
Celebrate Freedom Contact Information
Cara Cantonwine, Director of Programs
360.992.1804
Email Cara
