Independence Day celebration combines American history and family fun
Freedom Fest is this Friday, July 4 at the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center! The second annual community-wide Independence Day celebration will feature festival favorites and new attractions, too. The popular Silver Wings Parachute Demonstration Team will drop in to the parade field behind the museum at 2:30 p.m. Expert jumpers will be on hand afterward to talk with festival-goers.
There will be a Pint-Sized Patriots Parade down Heritage Walk beginning at 2 p.m. Kids up to age 12 should dress up in red, white and blue to look their patriotic best. Bikes, trikes, scooters and wagons decorated with signs and streamers make great ‘floats’ for this parade! The most creative and patriotic entries will win prizes. Parents, you can start registering your kids for the parade at noon near the museum’s rotunda.
Re-enactors will fire a large Civil War era cannon every hour throughout the day, and will perform black powder musket drills until 1:30 p.m. Parked in front of the museum will be a much more modern instrument of warfare: a M1128 Mobile Gun System, an eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicle.
The Maneuver Center of Excellence’s popular concert and rock band will kick off the activities at 11 a.m. The Krissy Andrews Band performs at 3 p.m., and the Oneeders take the stage at 4:45 p.m.
All day, kids will enjoy bounce houses, face and hair painting, and balloon animals. Parents will want to get free ID kits for their children through the GaCHIP program.
World War II Company Street will be open for self-guided tours between 11a.m. and 3 p.m. The Vietnam Wall and the Memorial Walk of Honor will be open all day.
The IMAX Theatre will be the perfect place to cool off, with alternating screenings of D-Day 3D: Normandy 1944 and We the People. The NIM SIM Combat Simulators are offering a buy-one-get-one deal if you give them the secret word you hear on Sunny 100 during the radio station’s live remote broadcast 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Visitors can purchase ice cream, barbecue plates, chicken sandwiches, funnel cakes, hot dogs, hamburgers, pretzels, beer, frozen mocktails and soft drinks from our vendors. The Fife and Drum restaurant and the IMAX concessions stand will be open for diners who’d rather stay indoors.
The National Infantry Foundation’s Premier Partners – Aflac, Lockwood Partners, Global Payments, Rivertown Auto Mall, TSYS, W.C. Bradley Co., Hughston Clinic, St. Francis Hospital and Wells Fargo – are the event’s sponsors. WTVM and the Clear Channel family of radio stations are the event’s Media Sponsors. The June 29 edition of the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer will include a section promoting the event, along with a map showing where each of the events will be held.
The museum’s activities will end at 6 p.m. Visitors can then head to Phenix City for a concert in the amphitheater and fireworks following at dark.
Admission to Freedom Fest is free. A donation of $5 per person is requested at the door. There will be nominal costs for the IMAX Theatre, combat simulators, and food and drinks. The National Infantry Foundation relies on these attractions and donations to operate the museum and preserve the artifacts that tell the heroic story of the American Infantryman.
*Coolers, grills and pets, other than service dogs, are not permitted. Weapons are prohibited, and all bags will be checked by security officers.
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