Lots of Flack for Columbus on His 500th

Look around this Christopher Columbus Day weekend and you’re almost as likely to see people protesting or ignoring the 500th anniversary of his first voyage to the Americas as you are to find people celebrating.

“We as native people have nothing to celebrate Columbus for,” said Tim WhiteHawk, president of the Southwest Indian Student Coalition at the University of New Mexico. His group and others plan a “de-celebration” today.

Many observances over the weekend and on Monday’s official holiday will honor Columbus, with parades, festivals, exhibits, concerts and dinners.

In Miami Beach, Fla., Russian dignitaries will help celebrate the arrival of the first pieces of a planned 300-foot statue of Columbus. The 500-ton bronze statue is being shipped from St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1,500 pieces with assembly expected to begin next year.

A full weekend of celebrating began Friday in Columbus, Ohio, the world’s largest city named for the explorer, with a parade, a marathon and a full-scale replica of his ship, the Santa Maria, docked on the Scioto River.

Baltimore will hold its 192nd annual Christopher Columbus Parade today, with Joe DiMaggio as grand marshal, and despite controversy elsewhere more marching units are expected than last year.

Proponents of Viking explorer Leif Ericson as the first European to land on American soil are not surrendering their beliefs, but they will march in Philadelphia’s parade today.

The tiny border village of Columbus, N.M., is holding an annual festival this weekend, but Christopher Columbus was not invited because “frankly it’s just a big party for the village,” said July McClure, a village trustee in charge of festival entertainment.