Press Release: William J. Clinton Center Celebrates One-Year Anniversary
November 18th marks the one-year anniversary of the dedication of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center. In celebration, the Center will offer a series of events open to the public including a free movie in the Great Hall and book signings at the Clinton Museum Store. Admission to the Clinton Center will also be free November 18-20.
Kicking off the celebration on Wednesday, November 16, the Clinton Center, in conjunction with Movies in the Park, will feature a special presentation of the 1972 movie “The Candidate” starring Robert Redford. Admission is free, although seating is limited and is available on a first-come first-served basis. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and the movie will start at 7:00 p.m.
Also part of the weekend’s commemorative festivities includes a speech by President Clinton to the Rotary Club of Little Rock at their celebration of Rotary International’s Foundation month on Friday, November 18 in the Robinson Center Exhibition Hall.
A series of book signings at the Clinton Museum Store will be held November 17-19 featuring James Lee Witt, Susan McDougal, Gene Lyons, Timothy Hursley, and others. The Museum Store, located at 610 President Clinton Avenue, will be open extended hours on Friday, November 18 from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. To commemorate the anniversary, the Clinton Museum Store will sell a limited edition first year anniversary holiday ornament.
On Thursday evening, the Clinton Center will host a gala to honor the over 500 volunteers who have given their time and energy to run the Clinton Center. Clinton Center volunteers have clocked over 42,000 hours of service in the past year with more than 160 volunteers individually giving 100 hours or more.
Since opening in 2004, the Clinton Presidential Center has attracted nearly 500,000 visitors from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and dozens of countries worldwide. The Clinton Center’s annual attendance figure is far ahead of any other presidential library. The top ten out-of-state markets visiting the Center are (in descending order): Dallas/Fort Worth, Memphis, Los Angeles/Riverside/Orange Counties, Houston/Galveston, Chicago, Washington, D.C./Baltimore, New York City/New Jersey/Long Island, Kansas City, St. Louis and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Over the past 12 months, the Clinton Center has become an intersection of regional and national community activity with over 300 special events held within its facilities, making it one of Arkansas’ most popular destinations.
In August, the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service (UACS) opened its doors to its inaugural class of 16 students. Since then the UACS has hosted over 30 distinguished speakers including Rwandan President Paul Kagame, former Senator John Edwards, Congressman John Lewis, former United States Representative to the United Nations and former Senator John Danforth, and journalist David Broder.
Little Rock has seen an average of over an 11 percent increase in travel and tourism tax receipts since last November, and much of that growth can be attributed to the Presidential Center’s impact. Similarly, over 21 percent more Little Rock hotel rooms are occupied than last year.
Since President Clinton’s 1997 announcement that his Library would be located in Little Rock, there has been more than $1 billion of economic development in the metropolitan area.
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