Night Blast to commemorate the 100th birthday of
Crazy Horse Sculptor

Drawing for Crazy Horse theme bike set for afternoon

CRAZY HORSE MEMORIAL – On Saturday, September 6, the second and final night blast of the year will take place at Crazy Horse Memorial. This event observes the dual anniversaries of the 1877 death of Oglala Lakota leader Crazy Horse and will mark what would have been the 100th birthday of the sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski.

Boston-born Ziolkowski came to the Black Hills in 1947 to start work on the largest mountain carving in the world. After 60 years, the project is going strong, with one of the larger blasts in the project’s history taking place on August 21, 2008 removing 3,130 ton of rock.

The night blast will follow “Legends in Light” a multimedia laser light production. The show, projected on the 500-foot-tall mountain, features colorful animations, sound effects and laser beams choreographed to music. It shows nightly at dark through Native American Day, October 13, 2008.

The laser show will begin about 8:00 pm, followed immediately by the night blast. The night blast is sure to entertain, with the display featuring a rapid-fire series of fiery explosions like giant candles that produce thundering, drum-like echoes. The pattern of fireballs and bomb bursts are created by members of the mountain carving crew.

At 3:00 pm on September 6, a lucky winner will be drawn for the 60th anniversary Crazy Horse theme bike. This is the third year the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation has sponsored a bike raffle fundraiser.

The 2008 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail has been on display at the Crazy Horse Visitor Center since Memorial Day weekend. The bike was purchased from Black Hills Harley Davidson in Rapid City, SD. The 60th anniversary theme bike was painted by accomplished artist Charles Armstrong with Auto Art Studio of Prescott, AZ. Tickets are one for $20 or three for $50 and may be purchased at the Memorial or by calling (605) 673-4681 until 1:00 pm on September 6. All proceeds go to the project.

Following the drawing, the memorial will unveil the bike for the 2009 drawing, which will feature a Korczak 100th birthday theme.

After 6 p.m. on September 6, regular admission to the memorial will be waived in lieu of three cans of food per person for the KOTA Care and Share Food Drive.

Crazy Horse Memorial is a nonprofit educational and cultural project honoring all American Indians. Located on Highway 16/385 between Hill City and Custer.