Two weekends, counting Fridays. Two weekdays. Seven days of celebration, from June 2 through June 10, mostly at A. K. Bissell Park. And admission to all events is free of charge.

The new Secret City Festival, brought to you by Celebrate Oak Ridge, will be bookended by two special weekends. The first weekend will celebrate Oak Ridge and World War II history. A free family movie will be shown on Tuesday, June 6; the arts will be celebrated on Wednesday, June 7; and music and art are the focus of the second weekend, June 9-10.

On Friday, June 2, tours of the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with shuttles running to and from the American Museum of Science and Energy and New Hope Center. U.S. citizenship and pre-registration are required for tours. Graphite Reactor tours at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will also be held then on a first-come, first-served basis, with departure on buses from AMSE.

Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch will officially open the festival, and the crew of the U.S.S. Oak Ridge will present and ring the U.S.S. Oak Ridge bell at 8:30 p.m. At 9 p.m., the movie “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” will be shown free of charge.

Overnight, approximately 200 re-enactors will be setting up an overnight encampment with World War II-era tents in Bissell Park. [Read more…]