Events celebrate 75 years of Hanford history

Community-wide

events to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Hanford B Reactor kick off in

August.

The

world’s first large-scale nuclear reactor went critical for the first time on

Sept. 26, 1944.

Built

in just under a year, the reactor and the 1,200 or so other buildings that

populated the Hanford site by that time were the product of the labor of some

50,000 men and women from across the country who came to live and work at

Hanford Camp.

The

fruits of their labor were instrumental to the success of the Manhattan Project

and to the larger war effort and events are planned to pay tribute to their

efforts.

Here’s

a roundup of events:

• Wings & Wheels, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 17, Richland Airport, 1903 Terminal Drive: The Port of Benton event includes a war bird, experimental and antique airplanes, hot rods and classic cars, motorcycles and military vehicles, food vendors. Free admission.

• “People of the Manhattan Project: Building an Atomic City” exhibit, Sept. 1-30, Art Center at Washington State University Tri-Cities, Richland. Features items from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hanford collection, as well as Hanford History Project collections.

• Hanford artworks, Sept. 1-30, Allied Arts Association’s Gallery at the Park, Richland: Displays of Hanford or early Richland-related artworks.

• “The Hanford Story in Sand” with “America’s Got Talent” champion Kseniya Simonova, a sand artist, 7 p.m. Sept. 5-6, Hanford High School Auditorium. Simonova will use her sand art talent to tell the Hanford story. Hanford High orchestra will be performing with her. Cost is $25 plus service fee at brownpapertickets.com.

• “I’m Not Done Glowing Yet!” with comedian Paul Rodriguez, 8 p.m. Sept. 12-14, Joker’s Comedy Club, Richland. Cost is $30 plus service fee at brownpapertickets.com.

• Day’s Pay lecture, 3-4:30 p.m. Sept. 12 and 4-6 p.m. Sept. 13, Richland Public Library. Descendants of the Day’s Pay crew will discuss the role of their parents in the war and impact Hanford’s employees made in the war effort.

• Atomic Frontier Day, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sept. 14, Howard Amon Park, Richland. City of Richland festivities include a souvenir scavenger hunt, activities for kids, a parade, exhibitors, mess hall dinner, historical tours and demonstrations. Free.

• The World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra, 7 p.m. Sept. 19, Richland High Auditorium. Cost is $25 plus service fee at brownpapertickets.com. Richland High’s orchestra will be opening and performing with the group.

• u Mid-Columbia Symphony’s “From the Vault,” 7:30 p.m. Sept. 21, Richland High Auditorium. The symphony will honor its past by performing pieces the orchestra played in the 1940s and ’50s. Tickets range from $10 to $56 at midcolumbiasymphony.org.

• Ride the Reactor, 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 21. A variable-distance mountain bike or cyclocross ride that begins and ends at the B Reactor. Route uses paved and gravel roads. Limited to up to 150 cyclists. Cost is $40 which includes ride, catered lunch and tour of B Reactor. Register: visittri-cities.com.

• Mid-Columbia Mastersingers’ “Nuclear Dreams: An Oral History of the Hanford Site,” 6 p.m. Sept. 27-28 and 2:30 p.m. Sept. 29, inside B Reactor facility’s main room. An oratorio for chamber chorus, small orchestra and two soloists that explores the memories, night dreams and inner lives of people who lived on the land or worked at Hanford. Music by Reginald Unterseher. Libretto by Nancy Welliver. Transportation provided by bus. Cost is $75 at mcmastersingers.org.

• Richland Players’ 75th anniversary performances, August to May 2020. The community theater group celebrates its diamond anniversary with a retrospective of plays performed over the past 75 years, one from each decade, plus a play to represent going forward to the next 75 years.

For full schedule of events, go to mcmastersingers.org.