NEWS

MEDIA CONTACTS:

MaryAnn Puglisi, Public Relations, 202-857-8384; maryann@eduvacations.com
Matt Slipkowsky, Marketing Director, 540-319-8939, mslipkowsky@naturalbridgeva.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

INDIAN VILLAGE AT THE NATURAL BRIDGE COOKS UP A FALL HARVEST FEAST DURING THANKSGIVING WEEK

Natural Bridge, Virginia (November 17, 2011) - From Tuesday, November 22 through Sunday, November 27 visitors to The Natural Bridge can watch a Fall Harvest feast prepared in the Monacan Indian Village. The special activity intersects American Indian Heritage Month and Thanksgiving.

Within the Village palisade, Interpreters in period appropriate dress cook turkey, trout, corn on the cob, corn bread, and mixed berries on raised grates over an open fire, in clay and metal pots, on hot stones, as Monacans would have done in the 18th century. The foods represent those they would have grown, hunted, and gathered, allowing Interpreters to share background about hunting, fishing, agriculture, and how thanks was expressed in Monacan culture. According to Dean Ferguson, Monacan Village Manager, "Monacans did not celebrate Thanksgiving; the cooking demonstration is a representation of a traditional Fall feast that they would have had while food was plentiful with the harvest and before the winter began."

While the feast is being prepared, village staff sit in the work shelters and the ati, a house covered in cattails, making tools and baskets, and answering visitors' questions about Monacan life, past and present.

The Monacan Village at The Natural Bridge is included with The Natural Bridge admission. Village hours are daily from 10am – 4pm through November 27. Discounted admission tickets and Thanksgiving event information are available at www.NaturalBridgeVA.com. The Natural Bridge, a National Historic Landmark, is at US 11 & 130, just off I-81, exits 175 and 180; and off the Blue Ridge Parkway, MP 61.6.

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Note to Editor: for reporters and photographers, the best feast preparation photo and video opportunities are from 11am-2pm; if needed, on-property contact above, Debbie Land.

The image above-left links to a high res image. For more information on the Monacan Indian Village, please click here.

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NEW BUTTERFLIES AT THE BRIDGE
Now Open

Virginia's Largest Indoor, Live Butterfly Exhibit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Natural Bridge, Virginia (June 7, 2011)- On Friday, May 27 The Natural Bridge opened the door to Butterflies at the Bridge, the largest indoor, live butterfly garden in Virginia. It allows visitors to immerse themselves in the world of live butterflies and get up close to exotic species like the South American Blue Morpho or the native Yellow Tiger Swallowtails that call Virginia home. Hundreds of new butterflies arrive weekly.

The 1,800 square-foot habitat features a reflecting pond, a seven-foot waterfall, a tropical plant-lined walkway for interacting with hundreds of flying butterflies, and a Virginia farmhouse facade housing pupae where visitors can watch them transform and take flight.

"We are excited to add this new familiy-friendly, interactive experience to all there is to see and do here at Natural Bridge," says Debbie Land, General Manager. The Natural Bridge has had a long relationship with butterflies along the Cedar Creek Trail where they feed on wildflowers, minerals in the creek's streambed, falls, wet rocks, and potassium nitrates in the damp limestone of The Natural Bridge.

This new attraction, Butterflies at the Bridge, is included with The Natural Bridge admission, which also includes Cedar Creek Trail, Monacan Indian Village, Wax Museum, Toy Museum, and the evening light show, the Drama of Creation. Ticket prices are $18, and $10 for children ages 5-12. A Combination Ticket that also includes the Natural Bridge Caverns is $28, and $16 for children ages 5-12.

Special discounted admission tickets and packages, and more information are available at www.NaturalBridgeVA.com/Butterflies. The Natural Bridge is in the Shenandoah Valley at US 11 & 130, just off I-81, exits 175 & 180; and off the Blue Ridge Parkway, MP 61.6.

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Note to Editors: All events are open for media coverage.

Butterflies at the Bridge Fact Sheet

Natural Bridge Fact Sheet

Butterflies at the Bridge images (click thumbnails for high res images):

Butterflies at the Bridge photo captions:

IMAGE 1 (left) - a young girl from Natural Bridge, VA meets a Blue Morpho from South America. When a Blue Morpho spreads its wings it reveals vibrant blue colors.

IMAGE 2 (middle) - a Monarch butterfly sits on tropical flowers in front of the exhibit's reflecting pond.

IMAGE 3 (right) - a Painted Lady rests on a branch. Tropical plants line the walkways of this unique garden.

Photography
Click on the thumbnails below to view and download Natural Bridge images:
 

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact us at 800-533-1410, email us, or use our online request form.