The U.S. National Slavery Museum is planning a celebrity golf event for June and an August weekend featuring fireworks and a Civil War re-enactment on its 38-acre site.

Museum spokesman Michael J. Smith said details are still being worked out for both events and that more information should be announced in late February or early March for what he called a "Pro-Am"-style golf outing. He said two Fredericksburg-area locations have expressed interest in hosting the event, which will be open to anyone willing to pay the greens fees.

The battle re-enactment and fireworks are planned for an August weekend as community outreach for families, Smith said. All the activities will be free of charge.

Guided public tours of the museum site and virtual tours of both the museum design and exhibit designs are slated to begin sometime in March, he said.

Smith said that many donors are interested in seeing where the 250,000-square-foot structure designed by Chien Chung Pei of Pei Partnership Architects of New York is to be built.

Smith said the museum will be interactive and include "Disney-esque" elements.

The museum anticipates 450,000 visitors annually in its first years of operation and 1 million "as it develops in recognition nationally," according to Al Wolf of Plaza Construction, program manager for the museum.

The museum site overlooks the Rappahannock River and is adjacent to Interstate 95's southbound lanes in Fredericksburg. The parcel was donated by the Silver Cos. and is part of the Fredericksburg-based company's Celebrate Virginia tourism and retail development.

Alisa Bailey, president and chief executive officer of the Virginia Tourism Corp., said she toured the Celebrate Virginia project site last month to get an update.

She said she was pleased with all of the elements it includes, such as hotels, a conference center, shops, restaurants and features that incorporate and preserve the river.

With the museum included, she said, the development makes Fredericksburg a "destination" for travelers.

"I was extremely impressed with the vision for the slavery museum, and we're very, very excited to draw some attention to it so funds can be raised so we can bring it to fruition," she said.

Though the Virginia Tourism Corp. does not help with fundraising, Bailey said she's interested in helping to publicize the museum, which should aid in that effort.

Bailey said she sees the slavery museum complementing other Virginia sites that offer information about black history, and noted that black Americans account for 10 percent to 11 percent of the travel market share.

Bailey said that once she has "assurance" the museum is opening in 2007, it would be a welcome addition to the state's commemoration of Jamestown's founding.

"We see it as a great opportunity for all Americans to see the legacy of slavery," Bailey said. "I was very impressed with the description of what they want to accomplish."

Smith said this week that the project is still scheduled for an October 2007 grand opening and that the cost is still estimated at between $100 million and $125 million. The museum has scheduled a fundraising gala in New York City on Feb. 19.

In response to written questions from The Free Lance-Star, Wolf wrote that he could not provide a date for the start of construction.

"Nothing has been ordered to date," Wolf wrote. "We are not able to formally schedule a start date as there are several factors precluding us from doing so."

He did not spell out the factors involved.

Earlier this month, Smith said a number of studies--including wind-tunnel studies--had been conducted in preparation for beginning construction.

Sources have said the studies were needed because of the site's riverside location and the Pei design, which calls for a glass front through which travelers should be able to glimpse the full-scale replica slave ship inside.

Wolf said the site's soil and the design had not caused delays or increased costs.

"The soil is what it is," he wrote. "The foundation of this structure is being designed to accommodate all the engineering functions and has not caused a delay. Costs have been anticipated and are included in our budgeting."

Date published: 1/30/2006

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