The American Association of State and Local History (AASLH) is offering its smaller institutional members the opportunity to apply for funds (up to $1,000) to hire a summer intern through their Alderson Grant Internship Program. The host institution must provide information on what they expect their intern to do and match funds at a 1:4 level (that is $1 for every $4 AASLH provides). Applications must be received by AASLH office by 5 p.m. on December 9, 2011. For additional program requirements or to download the application visit www.aaslh.org/alderson.htm.

Two scholarships are available for New Professionals (applicants must have been working in the field for three years or less) and two for the Workshop Diversity Fellowships (applicants must represent a minority group in the U.S.). The deadline to apply for these scholarships is December 12, 2011. For a list of workshops for which these scholarships apply, or for more information on how to apply, go to www.aaslh.org/workshop.htm.

The University of Washington’s Museology Program will be hosting their first internship fair on November 28th, from 11:30am-1:30pm at the UW Tower. This will be an opportunity for Museology students and local cultural organizations or museum representatives to meet and discuss upcoming possibilities for internships or projects. Some cultural organizations may have ideas of projects for students already, and some may just want to attend to see what the UW Museology Program is up to – chat with students and staff and brainstorm all of the possibilities that come with developing strong collaborative relationships through professional graduate internships.

The internship fair will take place in conjunction with the Museology Program’s annual “Museums and Social Issues Poster Reception” where students will be showcasing some of their class project work.  Cultural organizations or museums who are interested in attending should RSVP by November 18th to ensure a table will be set up. For questions or to RSVP, contact Nick Visscher at viss...@uw.edu or (206) 221-0763.

Image: Kids at a picnic © courtesy of Eastside Heritage Center

Offered webinars:
Telling a Good Story
November 17, 2011
Time: 2-3:15 pm Eastern   
A good guided tour is a good story, told well, says guest speaker Linda Norris. Join her in exploring story telling to create more meaningful tours and to connect with visitors who arrive at your site with many different interests.

Creating Historic House Interpretive Plans that Connect
December 8, 2011
Time: 2-3:15 pm Eastern
Interpretive plans that connect with your visitors and their lives are the keystone for a positive visitor experience. Guest speaker Nancy Bryk will show participants how research is an integral part of the interpretive planning process.

Redefining Audiences
January 27, 2012
Time: 2-3:15 pm Eastern
Who are our current audiences and how can we engage new ones? Looking at the most recent U.S. Census, Susie Wilkening will discuss demographic change and the valuable ways in which history organizations can use census data.

Register for one or all three! Pre-registration is necessary, so visit www.aaslh.org/Webinars.htm to register online. Funding to support this project was provided by an IMLS 21st Century Museum Professionals grant.

The first morning, I participated in my second Train-the-Trainer workshop for AASLH StEPs, the self-assessment program for historical organizations. This workshop covered curriculum developed for two of the StEPs program’s workbook sections, Mission, Vision and Governance, and Stewardship of Collections.

Following the workshop, I attended the Field Services Alliance meeting, a gathering of heritage professionals from around the country who provide support to local history organizations. At this meeting, AASLH announced that Washington State, with 33, leads the nation in the number of institutions enrolled in StEPs. 20 of those organizations in King County were signed up for StEPs through 4Culture’s Heritage Sustained Support program.

For me, the conference culminated with the AASLH awards banquet, where projects and people from around the nation were recognized for their efforts in advancing history. Three Awards of Merit went to organizations in Washington State: Washington Women’s History Consortium and Washington State Historical Society, Olympia, for the Washington State Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commemoration; The Center for Wooden Boats, Seattle, for their dedication to making maritime history come alive since 1976; and Museum of History and Industry, Seattle, for the multimedia project MOHAI Minutes.

The award winners represent only a small fraction of the good work that is being done daily by individuals and historical organizations all around the US. The AASLH annual meeting offers networking and learning opportunities for those doing the work in state and local history. If you are staff, board member, or volunteer for a local historical group, or an independent historian, plan to attend next year’s AASLH meeting in Salt Lake City from October 3-6, 2012.

Image: Virginian Native Sons statue © 2011, photo by 4Culture staff

The Future Remembered: The 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and Its Legacy is a new book about the history of the 1962 World’s Fair and Seattle Center. Developed in a partnership between The Next Fifty and HistoryLink.org, this 300-page, image rich hardcover book will be released in October. At the same time, the historical performance adapted from the book by Book-It Repertory Theatre will begin touring King County. See “the future remembered as historical preformance” for information about scheduling this show for your site.

Adding to the book and the performance, HistoryLink.org has rolled out a new curriculum that focuses on the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and its legacies. Social Studies teachers and students alike are sure to enjoy Imagine: Looking Forward by Looking Back, which meets a variety of official education standards and criteria for use in the classroom. This new curriculum is a strong companion piece to a similar project created two years ago for the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition centennial commemoration. These curricula and many more are free to HistoryLink.org readers, and can be found on the Education Resource page.

4Culture has provided support for development of The Future Remembered historical performance and the Imagine: Looking Forward by Looking Back curriculum.

Image: Looking Forward by Looking Back, courtesy of HistoryLink.org

Please contact the CAP staff at cap@heritagepreservation.org or 202-233-0800 to be added to the application notification list. Please let the CAP staff know whether you would like to receive an email notification of the release of the application online, or whether you would prefer to receive a paper copy of the application via mail. Paper CAP applications will only be mailed to those who specifically request them.

The Conservation Assessment Program is administered by Heritage Preservation and is supported through a cooperative agreement with the Institute of Museum and Library Services. For more information visit www.heritagepreservation.org/cap.

Image: CAP logo, courtesy of Heritage Preservation

Here’s an exciting added benefit for members of the Association of King County Historical Organizations [AKCHO] – free access to the American Association for State and Local History Online Conference. Normally, $55 for individuals, or $95 for groups, AKCHO is offering free access to its members who request it.

The Online Conference presents live sessions to participants who can listen, ask questions and make comments from their desktops, conference rooms, or home offices. The online presentations coincide with the AASLH Annual Conference in Richmond, Virginia, September 14-17, and are a way to attend the meeting virtually.

Over six hours of professional development, relevant to historical organizations, will be accessible via the Internet. In addition, participants will have access to all session handouts, online recordings, and other podcasts for six months after the broadcast through Learning Times. Session topics range from engaging the next generation of visitors, to effectively using collections, to adapting to new technologies.

If you are an AKCHO member, and want to take part in the AASLH Online Conference, contact Barbara McMichael and provide her with your name and AKCHO affiliation. Please reply by September 9 to ensure that your request will be received and processed in time.

Image courtesy of HistoryLink.org

Eligible applicants to 4Culture’s Arts Cultural Facilities (ACF) or Heritage Cultural Facilities (HCF) program are King County-based nonprofit arts, heritage and cultural organizations, or public agencies (other than K-12 schools or schools districts) with at least a two-year operating history, tax exempt status, and demonstrated long-term site control.

The Heritage Cultural Facilities program funds projects from organizations providing strong heritage programming that focuses on the identification, collection, evaluation, preservation, restoration, exhibition, and/or interpretation of the county’s heritage resources. Applicants to the HCF program may also request funding to purchase equipment. (See guidelines for exceptions.) Visit 4Culture’s Heritage program webpage to LEARN MORE.

The Arts Cultural Facilities (ACF) program supports the purchase, development and renovation of arts and cultural facility projects. A separate program provides funding for Arts Equipment. Visit 4Culture’s Arts program page to LEARN MORE.

Image: Blade installation at Village Theatre in Issaquah © 2011,  courtesy of Village Theatre.

This program provides support for “bricks and mortar” projects involving buildings, structures, sites, objects, and districts that have been officially designated as landmarks in any and every community in King County, including the city of Seattle & Bellevue. Visit the program’s homepage to review the guidelines and access the online application. Questions? Contact program lead Flo Lentz at 206.296.8682 or flo.lentz[at]4culture.org.

Image: Enumclaw Activity Center © 2010, courtesy of City of Enumclaw

Image: shoe © 2011, courtesy of The Burke Museum

Walla Walla, now a wine taster’s mecca, is the site for the 2011 Washington Museum Association Conference, June 15-17. With the theme, “Museums as Gathering Places,” the annual meeting will be headquartered on the Whitman College campus, within walking distance of Walla Walla’s historic downtown. A half-day preconference workshop about evaluating audience and visitor data will kick off sessions ranging from collections care and exhibits to social media and teaching tools.

Keynote speaker, Roberta Conner, Director of the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute in Pendleton will address the conference theme. Outstanding exhibits, programs, institutions, staff, and scholarship recipients, will be honored during the awards program. And conference goers will have the opportunity to visit intriguing sites in and near Walla Walla, as well as connect with colleagues in the regional museum community.

For more information, or to register online, go to www.washingtonstatemuseums.org/annualconference.html.

Image: Downtown Walla Walla, WA © 2010, photo by 4Cutlure staff

To encourage members of the Association of King County Historical Organization to take advantage of this chance to learn more about best practices, procedures, and policies for heritage collections, the AKCHO board has approved a limited number of $65 scholarships to offset the cost of registration. These scholarships are available to AKCHO members only, and to take advantage of this offer, you must register for the workshop by May 23.

If you would like to apply for a scholarship, please contact Eric Taylor at 206-296-8688 or email to inform him that you have registered for the workshop. If you are currently an individual AKCHO member or represent an organizational member, and are among the first ten to register before May 23, you will receive your scholarship payment at the workshop on June 23.

Visit www.4Culture.org/apply for a calendar of open programs, and click on “collections care” to review the guidelines for HCC and access the online application. Contact Eric Taylor, Heritage Lead, at 206.296.8688 or eric.taylor[at]4culture.org for questions about the program or eligibility.

Image: Restored WPA Mural by Kenneth Callahan © 2010, courtesy of Museum of History & Industry

Patricia Cosgrove, Executive Director of the White River Valley Museum, will be teaching a workshop on funding opportunities, grant writing and reviewing. The workshop is intended for professional staff and volunteers who wish to raise funds for their non-profit museums, historical societies, and archives or arts group through grants. Participants will review how to locate grant makers, how to match your funding need to a source of support, what constitutes a fundable project, what makes a persuasive argument, and how to maintain accountable financial records. The workshop will also cover how to craft a budget and what constitutes appropriate attachments. Participants will review actual grant applications, financial documents and final reports. There will be substantial time for group interaction, questions and answers with the instructor! For more information or to register call 253-288-7439 or click here to email the museum.

Image: 2010 © detail of plumbing set-up for removing condensation. Courtesy of Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience.

Heritage Cultural Facilities is an annual program that funds the purchase, design, construction, and remodeling of heritage facilities, and the acquisiton of equipment intended to be used for at least 10 years.

In 2009, the program awarded $328,835 to 11 organizations in amounts ranging from $3,000 to $50,000. Due to the current recession, and the resulting downturn in Lodging Tax revenue, 2010 Heritage Cultural Facilities awards will be capped at $20,000.

Visit our website for more information about workshops, eligibility and how to apply for Heritage Cultural Facilities funding.

© Courtesy Issaquah Historical Society

Wendy Becker, Snohomish County’s Historic Preservation Officer, shares her tips on developing successful sponsorship proposals and grant applications that get results. Also, learn more about the grant programs that Snohomish County offers in this informative workshop.

Thursday, September 9, 6:30 p.m.
Snohomish County Campus
3000 Rockefeller Ave. in downtown Everett
First floor public meeting room
RSVP at wend...@snoco.org

Sponsored by the League of Snohomish County Heritage Organizations. For more information visit www.snocoheritage.org.

Wooden Boat Festival
Saturday and Sunday, July 3-4, 2010, 10:00am-6:00pm daily
Center for Wooden Boats, South Lake Union, Seattle
The theme is heritage wooden boats. The ambiance is that of an old-fashioned, down-home waterfront festival where everything is fun, almost everything is free and nothing much is fancy. It’s as authentically grassroots American as you can get and has been for the last 33 years. www.cwb.org/2010-wooden-boat-festival

Princess Angeline, special screening
Tuesday, July 6, 2010, 7:00pm
Shoreline Historical Museum, 749 N. 175th, Shoreline
Come as see a special screening of Princess Angeline, a film about Duwamish heritage, Chief Sealth and his daughter Princess Angeline. After the film, visitors will have the opportunity to visit the acclaimed exhibit Duwamish Narrative: Contemporary Voices of the Duwamish Tribe by Joanne Petrina.

The Saar Pioneer Cemetery Living History Performance
July 15-18th, 2010
Book-It Repertory Theatre, in collaboration with the South King County Genealogical Society, presents The Saar Pioneer Cemetery Living History Performance. This performance tells a living history of six characters whose stories are taken from those buried in the Saar Pioneer Cemetery. Reservations required: Contact Karen Bouton at fors...@comcast.net or call 253-850-2777 for ticket information.

Learning from Historic Sites and Members Meeting
Monday, July 26, 2010, 5:30-7:00pm
University of Washington Club, UW campus, Seattle
The UW Facultry Club (now University of Washington Club), designed by Paul Hayden Kirk & Associates and Victor Steinbrueck and completed in 1960, is an excellent example of International Style modernism. Its construction departed dramatilcally from the traditional Collegiate Gothic buildings on the campus in the Bebb and Gould plan. Registration is free, event is co-sponsered by Docomomo WEWA. www.historicseattle.org

Seafair 2010
June 26 thru August 8, 2010
Seattle area
Seafair is an annual tradition for both locals & visitors alike. Celebrated for just about a month, it is the largest Festival in the Northwest with something for everyone – from Arts & Crafts to live Music, parades, heritage festivals and more! www.seafair.com

Chateau Ste. Michelle Summer Concert Series
Beginning late June-September 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery, 14111 NE 145th Street, Woodinville
A Destination Heritage site, Chateau Ste. Michelle hosts an annual summer concert series. Enjoy the fresh air, delicious wine and perhaps a picnic dinner while listening to the vibrant sounds of live music from your favorite band. www.ste-michelle.com

Mascot Idol
June 21 until September 20th, 2010
Seattle Center Foundation is looking for a mascot for The Next Fifty, the 50th anniversary of the Seattle World’s Fair. The public is invited to share their ideas for an icon that is delightful, inspiring, and represents the future. The mascot design contest is the third The Next Fifty Buzz contest, a monthly activity where the community gets involved in making the 50th anniversary of the Seattle World’s Fair a success. Click on image to view full video.

Image: Courtesy of City of Seattle, Seattle Center.