CUSTER (AP) -- Crazy Horse Memorial is offering free admission Thursday to commemorate the 65th anniversary of sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski moving to the Black Hills to begin work on the carving.
The memorial in the southern Black Hills will waive admission fees to visitors who contribute cash or canned food to a Rapid City food drive.
The memorial is a mountain carving in progress that will honor Oglala Lakota warrior Crazy Horse. Work on the sculpture began in 1948.
Thursday marks 65 years since Ziolkowski accepted the invitation from Lakota leaders and headed to the Black Hills to begin work on the sculpture. Mountain carvers will trigger a 600-ton blast at 1 p.m. Thursday to commemorate the anniversary.
