President Hinckley to Speak at Handcart Fireside Broadcast On June 11, 1856, the second of what would be 10 handcart companies left Iowa City, Iowa, embarking on the 1,300-mile journey to the Salt Lake Valley. 150 years later, President Gordon B. Hinckley and President Boyd K. Packer, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, will travel from Salt Lake City to Iowa City to address Latter-day Saints gathered to listen to a fireside that will be broadcast across the United States. Almost 3,000 pioneers departed from this midwestern city, the end point for the railroad, on the handcart trek west from 1856 to 1860. “Every trip starts with a first step,” said Peter Naylor, broadcast producer for the fireside. “At this point, they'd left Nauvoo, left everything behind, and now they were asked to go into—basically to them—the unknown.” The fireside brings to light the sacrifices of the handcart pioneers and gives viewers a chance to reflect on their journey, Brother Naylor said. The fireside is at the culmination of a three-day sesquicentennial celebration of the handcart pioneers. The celebration begins on June 9, 2006—exactly 150 years to the day of when the first handcart company left Iowa City. In addition to the fireside, other events at the commemoration include a daylong symposium, a youth handcart trek, a festival, and an interfaith devotional. More information on the celebration can be found at www.handcartpioneer.com. The commemorative fireside will be broadcast live over the Church satellite system, BYU-TV, and KBYU at 6:00 p.m. MDT on June 11, 2006, with a subsequent rebroadcast over the Church satellite system at 9:00 p.m. In addition to President Hinckley and President Packer, Iowa City stake president Andrew Hall is scheduled to speak and a 120-voice multi-stake choir will perform.