mee Historic New Orleans Collection, the rarest treaties, maps, paintings and documents from archives in Spain, France, and the Netherlands cometogether in A Fusion of Nations, A Fusion of Cultures: Spain, France, the United States & the Louisiana Purchase. Opening in April and continuing through the summer, the New Orleans Museum of Art presents Jefferson’s America & Napoleon’s France, an unprecedented exhibition of art, artifacts and docu- ments that bring to life the characters of the two nations and their two leaders. In thefall of 2003 the Louisiana State Museum presents One Nation Under God: The Church, the State and the Louisiana Purchase. Throughout 2003 the Entergy IMAX Theatre will screen Lewis & Clark: The Great Journey West, the National Geographic-produced story of scientific exploration and my ee il| “ih eet, e = — Ep = Es Es | (NAPSA)—Shrewd diplomacy and smart negotiation carried the day when some 200 years ago President Thomas Jefferson bought 800,000 square miles of the wildly rich and beautiful Louisiana territory from France. This included the French-Spanish-Caribbeancity of New Orleans for a mere $15 million. No shots were fired. No blood wasspilled. But for four cents an acre, a continent changed hands on December 20, 1808, and a young nation followed its manifest destiny westward. Now—two hundredyears later— New Orleans is marking one of history’s most significant real estate transactions during a yearlong Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial commemoration. From January to June at the ea Happy Birthday Louisiana—New Orleans Style Image credit: Louisiana State Museum Louisiana’s shift from a European colony to an American territory is depicted in The Hoisting of the Colors, on view in the Cabildo’s Sala Capitular. adventure in the new immense unbounded world of the Louisiana Purchase territory. The climax of the Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial celebration in New Orleans comes December 20, 2003. The Louisiana State Museum, the Jean Lafitte National Park and Preserve and the City of New Orleans will present a reenactment of the Louisiana Purchase transfer and the changing of the French flag to the American flag in what today is known as Jackson Square—wherethe original ceremonies took place two hundred yearsago. For a full listing of Bicentennial events and more information on New Orleans, visit www.NewOr leansonline.com/lapurchase, the official tourism Web site of New Orleansorcall 800-511-7289.
