Crazy Horse Pyrotechnics Coming this Summer

Two special pyrotechnic shows are expected to light up the South Dakota sky at the Crazy Horse Memorial this summer. The shows will be held on June 26 and September 6, to commemorate two important dates in Lakota history.

The June 26 show will celebrate the birthday of Ruth Ziolkowski, the wife of Crazy Horse sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski. It will also commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of the Little Big Horn, where Crazy Horse defeated Colonel Custer on June 25, 1876.

The September 6 show will celebrate the dual anniversaries of the 1877 death of Crazy Horse, and of the 1908 birth of Korczak Ziolkowski.

These special presentations are open to the public; and in lieu of an admission charge, visitors are asked to brings three cans of food. All food collected will be be donated to the KOTA Care and Share Food Drive. Due to the popularity of these the events, the public is also advised to arrive early.

Access at Crazy Horse Memorial is excellent, with accessible parking available near the entrance, and level access to the Welcome Center and the outdoor viewing platform. A loaner wheelchair is also available on a first-come basis.

For more information about the Crazy Horse Memorial and these special pyrotechnic shows, visit www.crazyhorsememorial.org.

And for more information about wheelchair-access to other South Dakota sites — including Badlands National Park, Mount Rushmore and Custer State Park — as well as a review of an accessible Black Hills inn, consult the Summer 2013 issue of Emerging Horizons.