Brighty of Grand Canyon

When the Grand Canyon Lodge burned at the North Rim last year, there was a public outcry over the fate of the beloved statue of Brighty, which had stood there since the early 1980s. Why such impassioned interest? What’s the story behind Brighty? Marguerite Henry’s 1953 book Brighty of the Grand Canyon, as well as the 1966 movie that it inspired, are fictionalized accounts of a real-life, free-spirited burro that roamed Grand Canyon from the 1890s to the 1920s. This program, lead by Astronomer-in-Residence alum Kevin Schindler, will look at the real story of Brighty, as well as the popular statue of Brighty, whose presence helped lead to a change in the National Park Service’s policy of removing feral burros from Grand Canyon National Park. We will meet outside Kolb Studio and walk together to a nearby outdoor location where the presentation will take place.