Latest news with #AmericanHeroes
CBS News
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Free Memorial Day parades, events in Philadelphia area
There is an array of events scheduled across the Philadelphia region as the nation honors our bravest heroes on this Memorial Day. Here is a guide to what events you could attend for free. Blue Cross RiverRink Summerfest (101 S Christopher Columbus Blvd, Philadelphia, PA) Blue Cross RiverRink Summerfest is one of the Philadelphia Waterfront's favorite summertime traditions. It features roller skating, outdoor boardwalk games and rides, mini-golf, and great food and drinks, all set against soaring views of the Delaware River and the Ben Franklin Bridge. Admission to RiverRink is free and open to the public, while mini-golf, games, rides and concessions are pay-as-you-go. The Museum of the American Revolution (101 S. 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA) On Memorial Day, the Museum of the American Revolution plans to honor the men and women who lost their lives in service to their country during the Revolutionary War and celebrate the freedoms they fought to secure for future generations. Veterans, military, and Blue Star Families are able to get in for free throughout Memorial Day Weekend. Free Parking on Philadelphia streets Street parking is free in Philadelphia on Memorial Day, the Philadelphia Parking Authority announced. The PPA said no meters or residential parking time limits will be enforced on Monday, and they will only enforce parking regulations that impact safety and traffic flow. Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Front and Dock streets and Front and Spruce streets, Philadelphia, PA) The Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial is hosting a Memorial Day ceremony on Memorial Day from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Washington Post
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
In their words: How recent presidents have honored America's fallen on Memorial Day
WASHINGTON — From Arlington National Cemetery outside the nation's capital to the American burial ground in Normandy, France, presidents customarily commemorate Memorial Day on hallowed ground. In somber wreath-laying ceremonies and poignant speeches, presidents remember the military members who died serving the country, even as many Americans associate the holiday with a three-day weekend and shopping sales.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Trump Administration Is Looking for Artists to Craft "Garden of American Heroes"
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." The call has gone out from the National Endowment for the Humanities for artists submissions for the Garden of American Heroes, President Trump's proposed national park, location to be determined, of 250 statues of American figures considered heroes. Winners of statue grants, which range from $200 and $600,000, will create up to three life-size statues that 'realistically' depict one of the people on this National Register list. Ultimately, who each artist will depict will be decided for them: 'Applicants are asked to select ten to twenty figures from those listed in the Executive Order and NEH will determine which statues are to be created by each award recipient,' states the application. The list includes a wide range of names, including George Washington, Martin Luther King, Elvis Presley, Susan B. Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Alex Trebek, Frederick Douglass, Albert Einstein, Ray Charles, Julia Child, and Billie Holiday to name a few. The list is said to have been the responsibility of Vince Haley, the chair of the president's Domestic Policy Council, according to the New York Times. The finished statues must be made of marble, granite, bronze, copper or brass, sourced and funded by each artist, and completed by July 4, 2026. The Garden of American Heroes, first announced back in 2020 during President Trump's first term, is intended to coincide with the 250th anniversary of American independence. A release published on April 24th stated that this 'special funding opportunity' would support the creation of statues depicting those who have 'contributed to our cultural, scientific, economic, and political heritage,' and will fill a 'space where Americans can gather to learn about and honor American heroes.' Beyond a critique of the meaning of the word hero, there has been a loud outcry over the funding of the project, which as the Times reported, comes in part from the $34 million 'committed jointly by the N.E.H. and the National Endowment for the Arts, each of which had a budget of $207 million last year.' This comes after 80% of N.E.H. staff were placed on administrative leave earlier this month, according to NPR, and most of its grants were canceled. 'Nearly half of the NEH's budget goes directly to humanities councils in every U.S. state and jurisdiction,' writes Elizabeth Blair, Culture Trends correspondent for NPR. 'The endowment also supports museums, libraries, preservation, history and media projects through a competitive application process.' The widespread impact of the cuts is an unfolding story. In the short-term, myriad projects in the works have lost funding, like Yuriko Romer's, a documentary on 'baseball's role in American-Japanese relations over the past 150 years,' writes The Atlantic. Instead, the funding will go toward 'a sprawling sculpture garden with 250 likenesses of people [President Trump] deems 'American heroes.'' You Might Also Like From the Archive: Tour Sarah Jessica Parker's Relaxed Hamptons Retreat 75 Small (But Mighty) Kitchens to Steal Inspiration from Right This Instant
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rhoden calls for a ‘National Garden of American Heroes'
SIOUX FALLS S.D. (KELO) — South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden is calling for the Black Hills to be used as a National Garden of American Heroes. SDHSAA issues statement on Class A championship finish In a letter to President Donald Trump, Rhoden said he recalled the President's remarks from the 2020 Fourth of July celebration at Mount Rushmore, where Trump called for the garden's creation. Former Gov. Kristi Noem was the first to offer the Black Hills to be used after Trump's speech. You can read Rhoden's letter to Trump below. 03182025_Garden-of-American-Heroes-LetterDownload Rhoden is planning for a similar celebration at the national park, with fireworks as part of the country's 250th birthday, as part of an executive order signed by Trump in January, that includes the garden's construction. 'I would like to offer those same Black Hills as the perfect location for this garden. In fact, we have a plot of land available in sight of Mount Rushmore that would be ideal for this fantastic effort,' Rhoden wrote in the letter. Rhoden said Chuck Lien is a landowner willing to donate land that is near Mount Rushmore. Lien originally offered it to Trump in 2020, a news release from Rhoden says. George Washington, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harriet Tubman, Babe Ruth, and other notable Americans from all walks of life will be among those honored in the National Garden of American Heroes, according to the release. KELOLAND News has requested images of the proposed garden and will bring you a detailed report on what the proposal includes. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's Empty and Expensive Plan To Build 250 Statues of 'American Heroes'
President Donald Trump has issued a flurry of executive orders since taking office three weeks ago, looking to reshape everything from global trade to women's collegiate sports. One order Trump signed would prioritize the construction of 250 statues of historical figures and a garden in which to put them. While this plan is less controversial than many of Trump's other orders, it still represents an unnecessary and costly project. "As we approach the [250th] anniversary…of our country's founding, I have signed an executive order to resume the process of creating a new national park full of statues of the greatest Americans who ever lived," Trump said last week at the National Prayer Breakfast. Trump's order, issued January 29, reinstated an order from his first term, titled "Building and Rebuilding Monuments to American Heroes." It called for the creation of "a statuary park named the National Garden of American Heroes," with statues of "historically significant Americans…who have contributed positively to America throughout our history." "Because the past is always at risk of being forgotten, monuments will always be needed to honor those who came before," proclaimed the original order, signed in July 2020. "These statues are silent teachers in solid form of stone and metal. They preserve the memory of our American story and stir in us a spirit of responsibility for the chapters yet unwritten." "The National Garden will be built to reflect the awesome splendor of our country's timeless exceptionalism," Trump added in a second order, issued just two days before he left office in January 2021. "On its grounds, the devastation and discord of the moment will be overcome with abiding love of country and lasting patriotism. This is the American way." The original order included 31 names of figures whose statues should be featured, while the second order brought the total to 244; to get the total to 250, the order Trump issued last month said a staffer would "recommend to the President additional historically significant Americans for inclusion in the National Garden of American Heroes." (Leaning into the theme of 250, the whole project is set to be concluded by July 4, 2026—the 250th anniversary of America's founding.) Given that the original order was issued at a time of civil unrest, as protesters tore down monuments and Trump threatened offenders with up to 10 years in federal prison, it was comforting that all the names on Trump's first list were fairly innocuous—figures like George Washington, Martin Luther King Jr., and Orville and Wilbur Wright. And while the second list was similarly uncontroversial, it did have a few odd and even downright peculiar inclusions. Along with beloved historical figures, the list also called for statues of several actors from class films, like Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart; Todd Beamer, a passenger on American Airlines Flight 93 on 9/11; Christa McAuliffe, the teacher who died on the Space Shuttle Challenger; and Alex Trebek, the late and beloved (but famously Canadian) host of Jeopardy! Granted, it's understandable to want certain people from American history to get their due: Some, like Sojourner Truth and Medgar Evers, are belated but welcome inclusions. Others, like Andrew Jackson and William McKinley, are former presidents Trump seems to revere but who tend to rate poorly with the general public. And what Reason reader wouldn't enjoy seeing a statue of Milton Friedman sharing space with other historical greats? But creating a garden with 250 statues of historical figures—many of whom already have numerous statues, placards, and buildings named in their honor—all in 18 months, is an expensive empty gesture. "Building a national park with hundreds of statues is not a small undertaking," wrote Bloomberg's Kriston Capps. "The 4-acre Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, which opened in Washington, DC, in 2011, cost about $120 million" and "took four years to design, approve and build." "A more modestly scaled statue of evangelist Billy Graham, which was added to the National Statuary Hall at the US Capitol in May, cost about $650,000, suggesting that the price tag for a complete National Garden of American Heroes could easily rise to tens or hundreds of millions of dollars," Capps added. (Graham is on Trump's list for inclusion in the National Garden of American Heroes, and his original order from July 2020 included the possibility to "accept the donation or loan of statues," so perhaps that one could simply be transferred. One down, 249 to go!) Rather, if Trump wants these figures to be lionized in physical form, then he should take a page from the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, which raised money from private donors for its construction. If people want to contribute to the cause of dozens of statues commemorating a grab bag of historical figures, they're free to do so. There's no need to drag the American taxpayer into it. "Given that bronze and stone replicas of fallible human beings seem incapable of serving any unifying purpose for people forced to pay taxes to erect them, it's time to get government out of the monument business," J.D. Tuccille wrote in Reason in 2020. "From now on, let private groups celebrate their fandom on their own dime, and on their own property." The post Trump's Empty and Expensive Plan To Build 250 Statues of 'American Heroes' appeared first on
