Idaho kicked off a year-long commemoration of its Territorial Sesquicentennial  Monday, March 4, on the Capitol steps in Boise, where legislators, tribal leaders, and other VIPs  were gathered for the ceremony. The event included an Invocation from Father Camacho;  a proclamation by Governor Otter; a Lincoln address from Steve Holgate, Lincoln Portrayer; music from the Shoshone-Paiute Sweet Sage Drum Group, Horizon Elementary School Explorers, and Senator Cherie Buckner-Webb; congratulatory letters from President Obama and Boise Mayor Bieter; and a benediction from Josiah Pinkham of the Nez Perce Tribe.

As Master of Ceremonies David Leroy noted, the kick-off event was just the beginning of a series of statewide events to mark the territorial sesquicentennial. For more information on Idaho's Territorial Sesquicentennial, visit www.Idaho150.com.