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LONG BEACH PENINSULA, Wash. – October 2, 2007 – Digging deeper into the life and times surrounding the Lewis and Clark expedition, this year’s 'Ocian in View' speakers series will offer a compelling program of talks and more. The series will take place at venues on the Long Beach Peninsula and at Fort Clatsop on November 9, 10 and 11, 2007.

Author Jane Kirkpatrick will discuss the life of Marie Dorion, a contemporary of Sacagawea and the subject of her bestselling book, A Name of Her Own. Dorion, an Iowa Indian, who was the only woman on the William Hunt overland party of 1811-1812, the next westward expedition after Lewis and Clark’s return east. Kirkpatrick will speak at the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum (aka Ilwaco Heritage Museum), Ilwaco, at 7PM, on Nov. 9. Tickets for this and all 'Ocian in View' lectures are $10 and will be sold at the door. Seating is limited to 200 people and doors will open at 6:15PM.

Discoveries of an archeological dig at the Chinook ‘Middle Village’ fur trade site will revealed during a talk by Dr. Douglas C. Wilson [photo], Director, Northwest Cultural Resources Institute, on Saturday, Nov. 10, at 7PM, at the Ilwaco High School. Using the findings at the site, Wilson will explore the critical changes in human use of the river from a Chinookan Indian village to the McGowan cannery town. (The site was uncovered during excavations for the Lewis and Clark Station Camp, part of the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park.)

Other highlights of the program include the following:

• Returning special guest, Gary Lentz, with an entertaining, character talk – “Into the Sunset…Farewell Sgt. Gass" at the Ft. Columbia State Park Theater (west of the Astoria-Megler Bridge, on Hwy. 101, in Chinook) on Nov. 11 at 2:30PM. Admission is free and seating limited to 125 people;
  
  
• An open house and guided programs at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at Cape Disappointment State Park on Nov. 10, from 10AM to 5PM. Admission is free. Shuttle parking available;
  
  
• Tours of the Confluence site, designed by Maya Lin, will be offered on Nov. 10, from 2 to 3:30PM and Nov. 11, from 10 to 11:30AM;
  
  
• A seafood dinner prepared by the Chinook Tribe will be presented at the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum (aka Ilwaco Heritage Museum) on Nov. 10 from 4 to 7PM. Cost is $15 per person and includes regional seafood, salad, Indian fry bread, dessert and beverages. Tickets for seniors are $13 and for children, under 12 years of age, $5
  
  
• Knappton Cove Heritage Center’s ‘O How Horrible is the Day’ Open House on Nov. 10 from 1PM to 4PM. The Center is located three miles upriver from the north end of the Astoria-Megler Bridge;
  
  
• Fort Clatsop: Rebuilding an Icon book signing and speakers at Fort Clatsop, 6.5 miles southwest of Astoria, Oregon, on Nov. 10 at 11AM;
  
  
•  “Mud Stick Tour: Sentinels Standing is Silent Witness” on Nov. 10 at 9AM to noon and 1 to 4PM. Jim Sayce, Washington State Historical Society, will lead the bus tour that includes short walks to sites along the Columbia River while discussing what happened after Lewis and Clark opened the doors to more explorers and settlers to the region. Tours are $30 per person and reserve well in advance. Call the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum (aka Ilwaco Heritage Museum) at 360.642.3446 for reservations.

'Ocian in View' is presented by a partnership of community non-profit organizations, led by the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum (aka Ilwaco Heritage Museum) and the Pacific County Friends of Lewis and Clark. For general program and destination information, please call the Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau at 1.800.451.2542 or access www.funbeach.com. Lewis and Clark information is available at www.ilwacoheritagemuseum.org or by calling 360.642.3446.

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