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The Grand Canyon will celebrate 100 years since its designation as one of the country鈥檚 first national parks on Founders Day, February 26, commemorating the century with a year-long calendar of free events and learning opportunities for park visitors.

鈥淕rand Canyon National Park is celebrating its Centennial year-round, so there will be opportunities throughout 2019 for visitors to come and engage with the park,鈥� said Vanessa Ceja, centennial outreach coordinator for the park. 鈥淭here will also be opportunities throughout Arizona for visitors to meet Grand Canyon Conservancy staff and Grand Canyon National Park rangers.鈥�

Centennial celebratory events will occur February 26 at the South Rim of the canyon, which is open 365 days a year, starting at 10:00 a.m. with cultural demonstrations, family activities and elementary school choir performances. Park guests can also stop by the Visitor Center to sign a birthday card for the Grand Canyon.

At 1:00 p.m., there will be a commemoration ceremony at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center in which Secretary of State Katie Hobbs will read a commendation and present a plaque to the park.

The Centennial celebrations will be hosted by the National Park Service and Grand Canyon Conservancy, the park鈥檚 nonprofit partner that funds much of the educational programming and opportunities for youth to explore nature at the park. The conservancy raises private funds for the park to cover what federal funding cannot.

鈥淲e fund all of the educational programming and the and a for underprivileged students to come out to explore nature,鈥� said Mindy Riesenberg, director of marketing and communications at Grand Canyon Conservancy. 鈥淲e fund most of the restoration of the trails across the canyon. We fund the historic buildings along the rim and their preservation. We fund , which is on the east side of the South Rim, which is a site that we鈥檙e going to be making into an inter-tribal heritage site for the 11 traditionally associated tribes of Grand Canyon.鈥�

The conservancy is a membership organization that offers discounts and other benefits for people who donate, and it also works to protect and preserve the national park. Much of the entertainment and event offerings at the Grand Canyon are available courtesy of Grand Canyon Conservancy.

鈥淭his is a big deal because we were one of the first national parks,鈥� Riesenberg said. 鈥淭eddy Roosevelt kind of started all of those national parks, and the fact that we are a national park is what helps to preserve and protect this park. If we didn鈥檛 have the government protection that we have, who knows what could have happened to the park or to the land up at the rim?鈥�

There are events throughout the year 鈥� at the park and elsewhere 鈥� to celebrate the Centennial, including Fee-Free Days at the park, where no admission is required to enter:

• April 16 鈥� at Mather Point Amphitheater at the South Rim, in partnership with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Phoenix
• April 20 鈥� celebration, a Fee-Free Day at the Grand Canyon
• May 31 and June 1 鈥� at the Visitor Center, an educational experience where different groups will bring live animals that can interact with the public
• June 22 through June 29 鈥� , hosting park partners and other Arizona attractions at the Visitor Center by day; Star Party presentation and telescope viewing by night

鈥淲e also have opportunities for our virtual visitors 鈥� people who are very engaged and interested in Grand Canyon but might not be able to come out in 2019,鈥� Ceja said. 鈥淭here will be opportunities on our , and sites for those visitors to engage with the park.鈥�

and , both from Flagstaff, are releasing Centennial-themed beers in honor of the Grand Canyon.

Arizona State University, an official Centennial partner, will hold a conference February 28 through March 1 to examine the art, science and practice of Grand Canyon cartography.

In January, the Phoenix Symphony performed a in honor of the Centennial, and the Tucson Symphony, another Centennial partner, will hold聽 performances on March 2 and 3.

Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix will host a storytelling event on April 16 called 鈥�鈥�

鈥淚 would say the storytellers event is probably the biggest one in Phoenix that we鈥檙e doing, and probably the most fun, and we will have our Centennial beers available at Crescent Ballroom,鈥� Riesenberg said.

Grand Canyon National Park draws an each year that inject millions of dollars into the region鈥檚 economy. The most current data shows more than 6.25 million people visited the park in 2017, Riesenberg said.

鈥淚n 2017, visitors spent $667 million in communities near the park,鈥� Ceja said. 鈥淭hat spending supported 9,423 jobs in the local area, and overall it had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $938 million. Visitation to Grand Canyon National Park is a huge economic driver for not only our local gateway communities but for the state of Arizona as a whole.鈥�

A prepared by Northern Arizona University and the Alliance Bank Economic Policy Institute for the Coconino County Board of Supervisors showed that keeping the North Rim of the canyon open for just one additional month could boost the regional economy by $14.2 million and support 183 jobs in northern Arizona and southern Utah.

Right now, the only stays open from May 15 to October 15, meaning businesses must close their doors and residents must leave to find other work during winter months.

Riesenberg said she wouldn鈥檛 speak to the conservancy鈥檚 view, as the organization does not get involved in political matters, but she said her personal opinion is that it wouldn鈥檛 hurt to keep the North Rim open.

鈥淭he impact would be for the surrounding communities that are up there, like Page鈥� would probably have an influx of money in a couple of extra months of visitors being up there, that鈥檚 for sure,鈥� Riesenberg said.

All money raised by Grand Canyon Conservancy through memberships, donations, retail shops and Field Institute trips and tours goes directly to the park for necessary maintenance and updates.

According to Riesenberg and Ceja, the future of Grand Canyon National Park is bright, starting with changes to the Desert View area of the South Rim to create an inter-tribal Native American cultural heritage site.

鈥淭here鈥檚 going to be a lot of interpretive and educational programming and signage,鈥� Riesenberg said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 going to happen in the next couple of years, and that is a very big deal, because when it became a national park the lands were managed by the government, and over the years some of the tribes were forced out of the canyon.

“This is not history that anybody鈥檚 proud of, and we鈥檙e in a time now where we鈥檙e trying to repair a lot of those relationships and remind people that even though we鈥檙e celebrating the 100th anniversary of this as a national park, there were people who were here for thousands of years before that who made a big impact on the park and have a lot to say about the park itself and its cultural heritage.鈥�

These changes are a 鈥済reat opportunity鈥� for visitors to engage and connect with members of Grand Canyon鈥檚 11 traditionally associated tribes and see how people have been involved in the Grand Canyon area for thousands of years, Ceja said.

鈥淕rand Canyon Conservancy is just really excited about the Centennial because, how we look at it is, we鈥檙e looking at the past hundred years and the success of the park,鈥� Riesenberg said. 鈥淎nd now we鈥檙e really looking towards the next hundred years and how we can make sure we can let people know that, in order to preserve and protect it for the next hundred years, you鈥檝e got to be aware of things that are happening at the park and that you can help. You can help keep it this pristine place for your grandkids.鈥�