Pomp's 200th Birthday Party
(02/12/05

Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, son of Toussaint Charbonneau and Sacagawea, was born February 11, 1805, in what is now central North Dakota. As there is no record of Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark ever offering the young man a birthday party in the next 18 months he spent accompanying his parents and the Corps of Discovery to the Pacific Ocean and back, a movement is afoot to have 200 birthday parties for Pomp by the weekend marking his birth.

The Interpretive Center will mark Pomp's birthday with a variety of activities for all ages between noon and 3 p.m. Birthday cake and drinks will be available. Every child will make his or her own party hat - a chapeau bras (SHA-POH' BRAH') - as a souvenir. Also known as the ""arm hat,"" a chapeau bras is convenient to carry under one arm. Worn by infantry and artillery officers in the 1800s, it was made of beaver felt.

A timeline of significant events in Pomp's life will be displayed, where visitors can learn how Pomp distinguished himself in later life. Visitors can sign a large birthday card, as well.

In the exhibit hall, partygoers will have the opportunity to take part in a treasure hunt of facts about Pomp's life. Every successful treasure hunt becomes an entry in a drawing for free one-day tickets to ""Explore! The Big Sky"" June 1-July 4, as well as a souvenir balloon.

Elsewhere in the building, 19th century European and Indian games will be played. European games of the 1800s will include whirligigs, tops, and marbles. A special game will be Pin the Tail on the Rattlesnake. Children who bring their own large two-holed buttons can make a whirligig to take home as a souvenir. The Tribal Games group organizing competitions for the National Signature Event in June and July will demonstrate tribal games. If the weather allows for it, outdoors games also will be offered.

One of the interpretive talks that afternoon will be Georges de Giorgio's 'My Little Dancing Boy,' a look at Pomp's life. Jean Baptiste earned his nickname of Pomp or Pompy from Captain Clark. The nickname is based on Jean Baptiste's propensity for dancing. He was only 55 days old when the expedition departed Fort Mandan for the Pacific Ocean in April 1805.

For $1, visitors of all ages will be able to get their picture taken with a cradle board or a cutout of Pomp and Sacagawea.

The party is made possible by support from the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Association, the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Great Falls, the Coca-Cola Company, Van's IGA, the Portage Route Chapter of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, and Explore! The Big Sky.

The party also will be an excellent opportunity for visitors to learn more about Explore! The Big Sky (EBS), a National Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Signature Event, taking place in Fort Benton/Great Falls Montana, June 1 - July 4, 2005, commemorating Lewis and Clark's expedition and the Plains Indians they encountered. EBS representatives will have an information table in the Interpretive Center lobby.

The Interpretive Center will be open its normal hours that day: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., with normal fees charged for all age groups before and after the party: $5 Adults; $4 Seniors; $2 Youths (6-17); $Free Children (5 and younger).

Directions: Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center at 4201 Giant Springs Road. 1/4 mile from Giant Springs; 1.5 miles east of Black Eagle Dam.

Pomp's 200th Birthday Party
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center, Great Falls, MT 59403

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