U.Va. Media Advisory: Ceremony to Mark the 25th Anniversary of Berlin Wall’s Fall

On Sunday, the world will mark the 25^th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. At 5:30 p.m., the University of Virginia invites the public to commemorate this monumental day in history with a moment of remembrance, followed by a reception.

The public ceremony will be held at the “Kings of Freedom” Berlin Wall exhibit adjacent to Alderman Library and the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library.

A reception with music and food will follow from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Newcomb Hall Ballroom. The public is encouraged to attend.

The ceremony will include brief remarks by U.Va. President Teresa A. Sullivan; Jody Kielbasa, U.Va.’s vice provost for the arts and director of the Virginia Film Festival; and Robert A. Hefner III. Robert and MeiLi Hefner, owners of the Ramiiisol Vineyards in Free Union, own the “Kings of Freedom” panels, which have been on loan to U.Va. since March.

This event is the culmination of a weeklong multidisciplinary symposium, “The Berlin Wall Symposium: The Fall of a Symbol, The Will of a People,” that marked the 25^th anniversary of the historic fall and the symbolic end of the Cold War. The symposium brought together academics, scholars and artists from U.Va. and around the world to highlight the cultural, political and historical implications surrounding this watershed moment of the 20^th century.

Kielbasa will be available for interviews prior to and immediately after the ceremony.

The exhibition of the Berlin Wall and the supporting events throughout the week are presented by U.Va.’s offices of the President, Executive Vice President and Provost and Vice Provost for the Arts.