Ken Burns's The National Parks: America's Best Idea

As the next installment of the View's documentary series celebrating the Semiquincentennial of America, View is presenting Ken Burns's 6-part documentary on one of the country's treasures, The National Parks.

Filmed over the course of more than six years at some of nature’s most spectacular locales— from Acadia to Yosemite, Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon, the Everglades of Florida to the Gates of the Arctic in Alaska— THE NATIONAL PARKS: AMERICA’S BEST IDEA is nonetheless a story of people: people from every conceivable background—rich and poor, famous and unknown, soldiers and scientists, natives and newcomers, artists and entrepreneurs— who were willing to devote themselves to saving some precious portion of the land they loved and in doing so reminded their fellow citizens of the full meaning of democracy.

Episode 1, The Scripture of Nature, (1851-1890)  begins in 1851, as word spreads across the country of a beautiful area of California's Yosemite Valley, attracting visitors who wish to exploit the land's scenery for commercial gain and those who wish to keep it pristine. The radical idea of creating national parks for the enjoyment of everyone is posed, and its development ensues.

Bring some friends along to explore, celebrate, and reflect together on the natural beauty of “America’s best idea” and the people who fought to preserve it for generations to come through the exquisite story-telling and cinematography which are the hallmarks of Ken Burns’ documentaries.

The screenings are FREE to attend and will take place each Monday at 7:00pm through May 18.  A cash bar and popcorn will be available.