Thousands of people will turn-out in Atchison, Kan. as the Amelia Earhart Festival continues.
Festivities kicked off Friday at Warnock Lake with Lakefest. Jacque Pregont with the Atchison Chamber said activities will continue all day Saturday with something for everyone.
“We won’t be done until dark with the fireworks show,” Pregont said. “We have a craft fair downtown which is sold out this year so that means there’s lots of crafts if you’re interested in hand-made items. We have a stage of entertainment in the middle of that craft show, we also have a whole block of things that we do just for kids.”
The agenda for Saturday includes a 2K/8K Fun Run-Walk starting at 7:30 a.m. There’s also a Fly-In at Amelia Earhart Airport from 8 a.m. to noon which includes a pancake breakfast, or if you’d prefer at 9 a.m. Breakfast with the Books is being held at the Atchison Public Library where participants can hear authors discuss Amelia and her impact. The Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 223 North Terrace. Adults $5, Kids 12 and under $1 for admission.
Pregont said an awards luncheon will be held at 12:30 p.m. at Benedictine College to honor a woman for her Pioneering Achievement.
“We say it’s kind of the heart of the festival it’s kind of what makes us a little bit different,” she said. “We give an award every year to a woman who we think exemplifies the spirit of Amelia Earhart.”
Sophia Daneberg
Photo courtesy Atchison Chamber of Commerce
This year’s award winner is Sophia Danenberg. She is the first African American and the first black woman from anywhere to climb to the summit of Mount Everest. She reached the top of the world on May 19, 2006. The chamber said she’s one of only 2,500 who have made that climb since 1953.
Tickets to the Achievement Award Luncheon are $15.
At 1 p.m. the Atchison County Raceway will start its Powder Puff Mini Van Derby followed by the annual Trailer Smash event.
Pregont said because of the extremely hot conditions in the forecast she thinks turnout during the day in downtown Atchison will be less than in years past.
“We expect anywhere between, 5 or 6,000 people during the day,” she said. “It all depends on the weather.”
Music on the Riverfront will kick off at 4:30 and run until 11:30 p.m. An evening aerobatic performance is st to take place at 7:55 p.m. with Michael Vaknin in her Extra 300 and Susan Dacy in her Big Red Stearman.
Any finally to wrap the day up the “Concert in the Sky” fireworks show will draw crowds to the banks of the Missouri River.
“We have had helicopters tell us there’s probably 30,000 people on the riverfront to watch the fireworks,” Pregont said. “The music is simulcast over speakers up and down the river. So it truly is a concert in the sky.”
To see the full schedule of events CLICK HERE.