Fall is in the air, and we have another month with lots happening! In this issue:
- Save the Date
- Thank you, Painters
- Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge Opens
- Annual Donation Drive Update
Mark your calendars now for our Titanic 110th Anniversary Gala & Tribute! Our Gala & Tribute will be held at the Arena Stage on Saturday, April 16, 2022. We will celebrate the future of Titanic Memorial Park and commemorate the 110th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic.
The National Park Service is planning a major renovation of Titanic Memorial Park in the next few years. The Gala & Tribute will highlight those plans and ways that NPS and the Friends will work together.
Displays in the Park
In addition to the Gala & Tribute, we are planning to install temporary displays in the park to commemorate the anniversary of the Titanic sinking, telling the stories of victims and survivors of the greatest peacetime maritime disaster in the world.
We will display a series of life-size cutouts of passengers on the Titanic, along with their stories. These will be displayed throughout the park. We will also display a colored flag for each passenger on the Titanic, arranged so that visitors can see who survived, and who died, by gender and class.
We need help to pull this off! As we get closer to the date, watch for volunteer opportunities. Until then, read about our annual donation drive below, and consider what you might give to help us bring these displays to life.
We did it! After two years of COVID restrictions, we were able to arrange a painting party with support from NPS. In September, 18 terrific volunteers came out and painted 44 of the 52 benches in the park. We were thrilled with this effort and hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful end result! We’ve found that the benches really do need a fresh coat of stain each year and we will resume annual painting parties.
Special thanks go to our NPS Liaison, Catherine Cilfone, and Volunteer Coordinators Emmanuel Ekekwe and New Thanyachareon, who went above and beyond to make our painting party a success. We noted several areas of minor damage at the event, and the Park Service has already come out and repaired those. We’ll now be able to return to our regular schedule of annual painting.
The Southwester included a nice article about our efforts:
https://thesouthwester.com/2021/10/10/titanic-memorial-park-gets-fresh-update/
Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge Opens
The new Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge opened on September 6 with a 5k run and other events. Board Member Lynn Addington even got to meet “Frederick Douglass” at the opening day events.
Did you know that Titanic Memorial Park is part of the Anacostia Riverwalk trail? When the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge construction is complete, the Anacostia Riverwalk trail will have 
better connections from Southwest to Anacostia Park and Navy Yard, with pedestrian and bicycle access under the bridge on both sides of the Anacostia River, and curb separated bike and pedestrian paths on both sides of the bridge. Aditional segments of the trail are being added in Buzzard Point, and we will re-connect to the terminus of the trail when the promenade at the Wharf Phase 2 opens. We're excited about these new connections that will bring more visitors to the park.
We are two weeks into our Give Until it Feels Good donation drive, and with $2,565 in donations, we are halfway to our $5,000 goal! If you have donated already, thanks! If not, please consider a gift that leaves you feeling good about your contribution to the park's upkeep and restoration. We are an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) non-profit, so we are frugal with our funds, and your donation is tax-deductible.
Our donation drive runs through the end of October. Please plan to make a gift today!
Corinne Irwin, Chair
Friends of Titanic Memorial Park
Proud partner of the National Park Service