The 33rd Annual Freedom Festival 2008 Kicks Off June 26th!

It's time for the 33rd annual Evansville Freedom Festival, which is held on the banks of the Ohio River, in Evansville's scenic downtown area. The Evansville Freedom Festival is a salute to the veterans in the Tri-State, and a chance for all Tri-State citizens to celebrate their freedoms, and the principles that our great nation was founded upon over 200 years ago. The Festival also allows Tri-Staters to mingle with their neighbors and enjoy great entertainment and food.

A lot of people don't know about the Freedom Festival's rich history. The Freedom Festival started in 1970 with a simple fireworks show. Over the last 33 years, the Festival has expanded to include a parade, bierstube, and lots of great food vendors and live entertainment. In 1978, the Festival featured for the first time Thunder on the Ohio, a hydroplane boat race. The Festival is traditionally held the last weekend in June and culminates in the Festival's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular. The Festival's addition of the Thunder Air Show, featuring such acts as the Blue Angels and the Viper West F-16 team has created excitement within the community and drawn record crowds to the Festival. In fact, I had the opportunity to personally meet the Blue Angels and do my re-enlistment with them in 2001.

Admission buttons are $15 in advance this year, and can be purchase at many local businesses. The price of buttons goes up to $20 at the gate. As always, kids 12 and under do not require a button. This year, to thank local veterans, Freedom Festival admission is FREE for all active and retired military personnel. To take advantage of this, one must show proper military identification at the gate. Also, United States Representative Brad Ellsworth will swear in local military recruits from all four branches of the armed forces during Thunder on the Ohio opening ceremonies. The Thunder opening ceremonies will take place at 9:30 a.m. Sunday at the Four Freedoms Monument on the downtown riverfront.

The Freedom Festival kicks off with a breakast on Thursday, June 26, at 7:30 a.m. Food vendors open at 11 a.m. on Riverside Drive. And the bierstube runs from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday will be a lot busier down on the Riverfront, with the gates and food vendors opening at 10 a.m. Thunder on the Ohio practice will be held on the river from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., and again from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. And practice for the airshow will be held over downtown from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m, featuring fly-overs by the P-51 team, the Viper West F-16 team. You'll also get to see the F-16/P-51 Heritage Flight and flyovers by the Michael Wiskus Pitts Plane Sponsored by Lucas Oil, the Tim Weber Extra Plane Sponsored by GEICO and the Billy Werth/Grayout Aerosports team presented by Tri-State Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Friday will also feature military re-enactments taking place from noon to 6 p.m. at Sunset Park, and Junior Achievement Grand Prix Tech Inspections will take place from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. From 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., you can check out Static Aircraft Displays featuring the US Marine Corps V-22 Osprey at
Tri-State Aero just off Highway 41, south of Petersburg Road and Indiana Highway 57. The Freedom Festival StreetVault pole-vaulting competitions will take place from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and you can also check out the Championship Wrestling down on Main Street from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Junior Achievement Grand Prix Practice Sessions will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 6:15 p.m., followed by Qualifying from 6:20 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

From 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. you can enjoy Family Fun Friday at Tri-State Aero, featuring entertainment by The Duke Boys , an Autograph Session with the pilots, a Golden Knights Night Pyrotechnics Jump, and a Balloon Glow. From 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Racing Vegas will be performing at the Four Freedoms Stage, and the Bierstube will again be held from 7:00 p.m. to 2 a.m.

On Saturday, things kick off again at 8:00 a.m. when the gates and food vendors open. You can enjoy static aircraft displays from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Tri-State Aero and Military Re-enactors at Sunset Park from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Junior Achievement Grand Prix Team Practice will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. Thunder Practice will be held on the river from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and 12:40 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. The Junior Achievement Grand Prix Heat 1 Races will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Heat 2 Races will be held from 1:45 p.m. to 2:35 p.m. The Feature Races will be held from 2:45 p.m. to 3:35 p.m., and the Race for the Checkered Flag will take place at 3:45 p.m. The Junior Achievement Grand Prix Awards Ceremony will take place at 4:45 p.m. You can also meet the Thunder on the Ohio hydroplane drivers and grab some autographs from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Then, at noon on Saturday, the Freedom Festival really kicks off with Old National Bank's Thunder Air Show on the downtown riverfront. The Golden Knights will jump over the river at 1:40 p.m. A second Air Show demonstration will be held from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Thunder on the Ohio Heat 1A will take place from 4:25 p.m. to 4:50 p.m., followed by Heat 1B from 4:50 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. Then, don't miss the Freedom Festival Parade at 6:30 p.m. Please note that while a button is required for most events, the Parade is free to everyone, and does not require an admission button.

Things wrap up on Saturday with the bierstube again from 7:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., and live entertainment with country stars Sarah Johns, Ricochet, and Eric Church on the Four Freedoms Stage from 8:00 p.m. to Midnight.

Sunday, the final day of the Freedom Festival, kicks off at 6:00 a.m. when the gates open. Thunder on the Ohio Qualifying and practice will take place on the river from 8:00 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. Food vendors open at 9:00 a.m. , and military reenactors will once again be at Sunset Park, and static aircraft displays will be open at Tri-State Aero. The Evansville Museum will present Family Fest at the Museum from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. - this event requires a ticket and a button for admission.

Thunder on the Ohio Opening Ceremonies will take place at the Four Freedoms Monument from 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., followed by Heats 2A and 2B from 10:35 a.m. to 11:25 a.m. The Thunder Air Show will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and Thunder Heats 3A and 3B will happen from 12:30 p.m. to 1:20 p.m. Another Air Show takes place from 1:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. Thunder on the Ohio provisional racing will take place from 3:00 to 3:30 p.m. if necessary, followed by another Air Show from 3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Thunder on the Ohio Finals will happen at 4:30 p.m. The day wraps up with the Awards Ceremony at the Casino Aztar Event Plaza on Riverside Drive at 5:00 p.m.

Freedom Festival wraps up on July 4^th with fireworks on the riverfront, starting at dark. When I still lived with my parents, we used to watch from the top of my mom's employer's parking garage. It's best to get down to the riverfront early so you can find a great place to see the fireworks. I won't be able to make it home for this weekend's events, but I plan to be back in Evansville on the 4^th for the Fireworks display. If you make it to the Freedom Festival, have a great time!