Wilderness Wildlife Week 2009 in Pigeon Forge
Wilderness Wildlife Week is Pigeon Forge's annual tribute to its neighbor, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the 2009 event has special meaning because it is the first major program marking the park´s 75th anniversary.
Wilderness Wildlife Week, Jan. 10-17, 2009, is among the first of many special events in and around the national park that are part of the 75th anniversary celebration. More than nine million people a year visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park, more than any other national park.
The Pigeon Forge event is eight days of seminars, workshops, photography classes, hikes and excursions that relate to the park and other outdoor topics.
Historic re-enactors portraying President Teddy Roosevelt, John Muir and others important to the creation of America´s national parks will be a special part of Wilderness Wildlife Week 2009. This is the 19th year for the event, and it has been named a January Top 20 Event in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society.
More than 150 experts—nature photographers, biologists, raptor rehabilitators, social historians and just plain folks who grew up in the Smokies—donate their time to present daily programs and a range of outdoor activities. There are more than 200 programs and activities on the agenda.
Program topics vary throughout the week, and admission is free to all activities. Topics include bears in the Smokies, the elk reintroduction project, the Smokies' logging history, fire towers in the Smokies, close-up photography, trout fishing and birding by ear. Several programs are designed especially for children.
Daily hikes and excursions into the national park complement the indoor seminars, lectures and photography shows. In 2008, almost 1,000 hikers from 19 states and four foreign countries logged a cumulative 3,920 miles on 49 hikes.
"The week is extremely flexible. You can attend one lecture or take one hike, or you can participate day after day," said organizer Deanna Sorge of the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism. "It's a great way to introduce people to the outdoors."
Wilderness Wildlife Week began 19 years ago as a half-day program on a January Saturday. January hasn't been the same since then in Pigeon Forge.
Wilderness Wildlife Week won the Pinnacle Award for "Best Environmental Program" or "Best Educational Program" in 2001, 2003, 2004, and 2005 from the International Festivals & Events Association and has been acknowledged 10 times, including 2009, by the Southeast Tourism Society as a Top 20 Event in the Southeast.
Wilderness Wildlife Week, Jan. 10-17, 2009, is among the first of many special events in and around the national park that are part of the 75th anniversary celebration. More than nine million people a year visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park, more than any other national park.
The Pigeon Forge event is eight days of seminars, workshops, photography classes, hikes and excursions that relate to the park and other outdoor topics.
Historic re-enactors portraying President Teddy Roosevelt, John Muir and others important to the creation of America´s national parks will be a special part of Wilderness Wildlife Week 2009. This is the 19th year for the event, and it has been named a January Top 20 Event in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society.
More than 150 experts—nature photographers, biologists, raptor rehabilitators, social historians and just plain folks who grew up in the Smokies—donate their time to present daily programs and a range of outdoor activities. There are more than 200 programs and activities on the agenda.
Program topics vary throughout the week, and admission is free to all activities. Topics include bears in the Smokies, the elk reintroduction project, the Smokies' logging history, fire towers in the Smokies, close-up photography, trout fishing and birding by ear. Several programs are designed especially for children.
Daily hikes and excursions into the national park complement the indoor seminars, lectures and photography shows. In 2008, almost 1,000 hikers from 19 states and four foreign countries logged a cumulative 3,920 miles on 49 hikes.
"The week is extremely flexible. You can attend one lecture or take one hike, or you can participate day after day," said organizer Deanna Sorge of the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism. "It's a great way to introduce people to the outdoors."
Wilderness Wildlife Week began 19 years ago as a half-day program on a January Saturday. January hasn't been the same since then in Pigeon Forge.
Wilderness Wildlife Week won the Pinnacle Award for "Best Environmental Program" or "Best Educational Program" in 2001, 2003, 2004, and 2005 from the International Festivals & Events Association and has been acknowledged 10 times, including 2009, by the Southeast Tourism Society as a Top 20 Event in the Southeast.
Information courtesy of Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism
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