Big Doin's

Spending my summers on the farm growing up while my dad was moving every year in the Army, I learned a lot from my grandmother.  One of her favorite terms was “Big Doin’s”.  Whenever she saw a gathering with lots of cars and people around, she would say “There’s Big Doin’s over there.”  The family joke that my dad and uncle always told was when she made that exclamation one time and they drove a mile to get closer to the cluster of cars which turned out to be a junkyard with “no doin’s” at all.

Well, there is going to be “Big Doin’s” in Seattle this summer, thanks mostly to the “Big Doin’s” in the summer of 1962 when the Space Needle and the Seattle World’s Fair opened.  Earlier this week, we brought out three generations of World’s Fair and Space Needle Seattleites to begin painting the Needle back to its original “Galaxy Gold” color from the Fair. It got everyone in town excited about all the activities coming up, starting with the official 50th Anniversary this weekend on April 21.
From now until the end of year, we’ve got a series of openings, events and activities that qualify as “Big Doin’s” and we’re knee-deep in all of them.  I’m outlining all this commotion mostly to let you know we’ll be distracted from time to time.
Space Needle’s 50th Anniversary—it coincides with the 1962 World’s Fair celebration, which means a lot to Seattle.  That really marks the time when Seattle became a world city and has grown ever since.  Elvis even came to the Fair and made a movie about it.  The Needle has become an icon for our city around the world and a beacon to our future.  It’s always leading the way.

University of Washington, Professional and Continuing Education Centennial comes next.  It’s nestled inside of the University’s 150th Anniversary and it celebrates the tens of thousands of local citizens who have come to the University with life-long learning as their goal.  We’re instituting a way for graduates to continue their education for years to come. And bring all who have participated over the years together in a series of reunions and gatherings.

Space Race 2012—the brain-storming session that spawned this idea started by talking about the success of sending Visitor Number 45 Million to our sister landmark, the Eiffel Tower.  Because of the success of that promotion, we began to discuss other places we could send people and someone said “How about sending them into space?”  We all looked at each other and asked “Could we really do that?”  The answer was yes and, since then, we have gone from 50,000 online entries to 1000 invitations to send a video about why you would want to go into space, to 20 semi-finalists who were voted for online and now it’s down to 5 people from around the country who will compete in tests of skill to determine the ultimate winner.  Astronaut Buzz Aldrin will open the envelope in May to congratulate the winner.

Not slowing down a bit, King Tut hits town on his final stop ever in the US next.  He’s going back to Egypt to his permanent home and will not ever tour again.  I still have the program from his first visit to Seattle over 30 years ago.  The real significance of that is that it tells me there is entirely too much “stuff” in my basement.  Being the marketing member of the board at the Pacific Science Center, host for the visit, makes this exceptionally sweet.  Advance ticket sales and exposure for his visit are way ahead of any previous venues.  The city is even changing the name of King Street Station to King Tut Street station during the 6 months of the visit.  Exciting!

Then comes Chihuly Garden and Glass—this spectacular exhibition has been almost 3 years in the making.  When a space became available next to the Space Needle, its owners approached renowned artist Dale Chihuly with the idea of a major exhibition of his work there.  We faced the test of Seattle’s process, gained permission from the city and have been working 24/7 since August to open in May.  It is all coming together in an amazing way and the artwork is being installed as I write this.  The most comprehensive exhibition of his work will move Seattle’s position in the world of art up a significant number of notches and those of us involved will be very proud to help open its doors to everyone.
Never far from the mountains, at the same time, we’re working on a PBS documentary about the love and attraction of the mountains.  We’re using the life of famed mountaineer and consummate guide, Lou Whittaker, whose career has spanned over 60 years, as the foundation for this program.  Lou is highly respected and revered in outdoor circles and he is a close and valued friend.  This documentary for network placement next winter or spring pays appropriate homage to Lou and his influence on climbing and guiding around the world.
All this is just in time to connect with the XXX Olympiad in London.  We’ve worked on the last several games with the local organizing committees including Beijing and Vancouver, BC.  We continue to talk with our Olympic contacts and have several lines in the water that we hope will bring us onto the scene in London.  Right now, our talks have been focused on security, which is a very delicate subject as we get closer to the Games.
All these “Big Doin’s” play out through the end of 2012.  What a benchmark year for this city.  If there weren’t an important election coming up in the fall, people would be dancing in the streets already.  It’s going to be incredible though and we’re smack dab in the middle of it all.  Grandma couldn’t have said it better.  There are “Big Doin’s” here and we’re in the game. In case you’re wondering what we’re up to…now you know.