New York (Swiss Roots) - International pop star
Jewel will put her
Swiss roots on display with a performance at the
Swiss National Day celebration on Ellis Island, Saturday, July 29, 2006, from 12:15 to 1:00 honoring Switzerland's 715th birthday. The event, presented by www.swissroots.org will also feature the newly designed exhibition, "Small Number - Big Impact," a lively presentation of
Swiss immigration history to the U.S. that will run at Ellis Island until October 31, 2006 and is organized by "The Association for a
Swiss Migration Museum."
Swiss Minister of Culture, Federal Councilor Pascal Couchepin, will officially open the exhibition, and will deliver the
Swiss National Day keynote address. Furthermore,
Swiss National Day will showcase a wide range of
Swiss entertainers, exhibits, and culinary delicacies.
Proud of her Swiss heritage, Jewel decided, much like Pittsburgh Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger, to join "Swiss Roots," a program that seeks to inspire Americans to connect with Switzerland, and she will become a "Swiss Roots" spokesperson. She says: "I was raised aware of my Swiss roots, singing traditional songs and eating traditional food. I even have a Swiss passport." As a Swiss-born American, Jewel's father, Atz Kilcher, with whom she will perform at Swiss National Day, helped familiarize his daughter with her family's Swiss heritage.
Jewel became aware of Swiss Roots through the makers of "Small Number - Big Impact," and is one of the celebrities featured in the exhibition at Ellis Island. Others include Marc Forster (Oscar-winning film maker), Adolf Rickenbacker (inventor of the electric guitar), Albert Gallatin (finance minister under President Thomas Jefferson), Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (psychiatrist and death researcher), Louis Chevrolet (racing driver and car maker), Robert Frank (photographer), Andreas Dietsch (early socialist), Othmar H. Amman (bridge builder) and General Johann August Sutter (adventurer). The exhibition also includes the "Swiss Forum," a lounge in which visitors have access to Internet stations enabling Swiss-ancestry genealogical searches. In addition, a comprehensive exhibition catalogue will be on sale at the Ellis Island Museum's book shop.
