ANCHORAGE, Alaska, June 23 -- Country music star Wynonna
Judd will be center stage for Alaska's grand celebration of its own stardom
-- the 50th anniversary of statehood, when its star was added to the U.S.
flag.
The Friday, June 27 free public concert falls near the June 30, 1958
anniversary when Congress approved statehood for Alaska, and will be
broadcast worldwide. Coined "Operation Gratitude," the show will honor
Alaska's military and the state of Alaska.
The concert will be carried live on the Internet at 9:30 p.m. Pacific
Daylight Time/12:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time by AT&T at
http://www.attblueroom.com. The site will carry an archived broadcast of
the concert for 30 days. Broadcast of the concert to a worldwide audience
will occur within a couple of weeks on the American Forces Network and the
Pentagon Channel.
Judd's concert will be held at Alaska's Elmendorf Air Force Base,
located just outside Anchorage. Naomi Judd and the Palmetto State Quartet
will also be on hand.
Only a week after the summer solstice, when Alaskans enjoy
near-constant daylight, the concert will be well lit, to say the least.
Statehood was made official on January 3, 1959, when President
Eisenhower's signature ushered in Alaska as the 49th state.
The concert kicks off the Anchorage statewide celebration of Alaska's
50th anniversary of statehood and a "We're In" weekend of free events in
Anchorage sponsored by the Anchorage Statehood Celebration Committee.
"We're In" weekend will include a reenactment of the pinning of the 49th
star on a U.S. flag strung from a downtown building. Two individuals who
were a part of the Alaska Constitutional Convention will take part in the
ceremony. Alaska's constitution is considered by many historians to be one
of the best in the nation. A complete schedule is available online at
http://www.anchorage.net/50.
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