Community invited to Fred Hutch 40th anniversary block party
SEATTLE — Sept. 8, 2015 — Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a community block party from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15 on its campus in the heart of Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood.
Hosted by Fred Hutch President and Director Gary Gilliland, M.D., Ph.D., formal remarks will begin at 5 p.m. and will include comments from special guests, including:
- Former U.S. Rep. Norman “Norm” Dicks, who was chief of staff to the late U.S. Sen. Warren G. Magnuson, creator of the National Cancer Institute;
- U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash., 7th Congressional District) and
- Scott Hutchinson, grandson of Fred Hutch founder William Hutchinson, M.D.
Let us know if you're coming by visiting our Facebook event page.
Activities will include self-guided tours of Fred Hutch’s brand new, interactive Visitor Center. Located off the lobby of the Robert M. Arnold Building, the Visitor Center showcases Fred Hutch’s research and gives everyone who comes through an opportunity to share their own stories and connect with the Hutch on a personal level.
“We can’t wait to welcome the community to learn more about our critical research and hear stories about the lives it has saved,” said Jen Sizemore, vice president of Communications & Marketing at the Hutch. “We want visitors to our campus to have an experience that inspires and engages them so they leave knowing not only that we are here for them, but that they, too, can help Fred Hutch achieve its lifesaving mission.”
The event will also feature science demonstrations and displays (including live zebrafish embryos in various stages of development), games, prize wheels, giveaways, food trucks and a cash-only beer garden.
Party attendees can also get their picture snapped with the Mariner Moose (between 4 and 5 p.m. only) and learn about the importance of colon-cancer screening by strolling through CASPER, the Hutch’s colossal inflatable colon.
Fred Hutch’s doors opened on Sept. 5, 1975, in Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood and was founded by Seattle surgeon William “Bill” Hutchinson, M.D., who named the institute in honor of his brother, baseball great Fred Hutchinson, who died of cancer at age 45. Fred Hutch launched with several research programs, including one devoted to bone marrow transplantation that was led by the late E. Donnall Thomas, M.D., who received a Nobel Prize for pioneering the procedure, which has been performed on more than a million patients worldwide. Click here to learn more about the Hutch’s 40 years of cures.
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At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, home to three Nobel laureates, interdisciplinary teams of world-renowned scientists seek new and innovative ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other life-threatening diseases. Fred Hutch’s pioneering work in bone marrow transplantation led to the development of immunotherapy, which harnesses the power of the immune system to treat cancer. An independent, nonprofit research institute based in Seattle, Fred Hutch houses the nation’s first National Cancer Institute-funded cancer prevention research program, as well as the clinical coordinating center of the Women’s Health Initiative and the international headquarters of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network.
For the Media