Update: because of Subtropical Storm Nicole, Celebrate America has been rescheduled to Saturday, November 19, at the Florida Agricultural Museum.
Freedom Fest, the annual fly-in at Flagler County Executive Airport, was scheduled for Nov. 12. Hurricane Ian had other ideas. It turned the airport into a small city, an emergency facility that accommodated about a thousand linemen and their vehicles as electric utilities rapidly went to work reconnecting much of the region and the state after the storm.
Because of the airport’s transformation (and other ongoing projects), it put on hold a lot of the preparatory work that was going into Freedom Fest. So Freedom Fest is being postponed to March 25, 2023, at the airport.
But so as not to leave vendors high and dry, and so as to still give residents and visitors an event to enjoy, Flagler Broadcasting’s David Ayres (who partners with the airport’s Roy Sieger for Freedom Fest’s entertainment, marketing, vendors and fireworks), is standing up a replacement all-day free event from noon to 5 p.m. called Celebrate America at the Florida Agricultural Museum on Nov. 19.
Celebrate America will feature all the vendors, all the musicians, all the Veterans Day ceremonies that had been scheduled for Freedom Fest. The only things it will not have are the planes and the night fireworks, and of course the venue will be different.
Here’s the thing about Ayres: he doesn’t want vendors and others who depend for their living on events he produces to be left without revenue. Flagler Broadcasting will have sponsors for Celebrate America, but it may end up losing money on the event. Ayres says he’ll worry about that later.
“We’ve already got everybody set as far as the vendors and entertainment, and a lot these are all local people that this is what they do for a living,” Ayres said. “Right now they’re counting on this event. This would be devastating to a lot of people that are just kind of getting by.”
So he conceived of the idea of a Veterans Day salute, at the Ag museum. Ayres serves on the board of the museum, which happens to be the venue that saved this year’s Creekside Festival, also produced by Flagler broadcasting. The festival is usually held at Princess Place. Hurricane Ian had other ideas about that, too, its 10 inches of rain leaving Princess Place too waterlogged to host a big event. So Ayre quickly pivoted the Creekside Festival to the ag museum. Now he’s doing the same with Freedom Fest. “So we’re moving everything except the airplanes,” he says, stressing that it is not Freedom Fest–which will have its day–but a Veterans Day event.
“It’s just a free day to celebrate America, we’ll still have all of our patriotic ceremonies, and we’re going to make it where it’s a good time to come and meet the people you elected because it will be post-election,” Ayers said. “We have great entertainment lined up with the bands, we don’t want to let them down. I mean the sound guys, the bands, their families, all the food vendors that are local in the area that have already bought supplies for this and things, so we owe it to them to carry on. So it’s a separate event.”
Rep. Paul Renner was scheduled to do the Pledge at Freedom Fest, he will still do so as part of the salute to veterans at the November event. Nova Rex, a band formed in 1985 and ranked among the Top 50 greatest hair-metal bands from the 80’s by VH-1, will be the featured act, with John Bisaha from the Iconic band The Babys. “They’re going to do a family-friendly show, by the way,” Ayres says. They’ll perform from 3 to 5 p.m., and Matt O Ree Band will perform at 1 p.m.
In a sense, it’ll also be a celebration of the airport, in absentia.
“People don’t realize what a undertaking it was that Roy did to host FPL and over 1,000 people living out there and all this kind of stuff to it,” Ayres said of Roy Sieger, the airport director. Florida Power and Light coordinated its reconnection operation with innumerable subcontractors from the airport, instead of from the Daytona Speedway, where it normally stages its post-hurricane deployments, because the speedway was under water.
“Between ongoing projects at the Flagler Executive Airport and Hurricane Ian taking a huge toll all across the State of Florida, the timing isn’t right,” Sieger said today, after the decision was reached to postpone the event. “I believe having the extra time will allow us to hold an event that is better than ever.”
Freedom Fest is known for static vintage and modern military aircraft and vehicles, warbird flybys, helicopter rides, and plenty of food and beverage vendors. It began at the airport as Wings Over Flagler, and has been held under that or its successor names most years.
Jane Gentile-Youd says
WAY TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY YAY YAY. Mark and I love going to this event every year. Wow great going WNZF .
Hubby Mark and I were talking about whether we are going to attend celebrating an commission win on November 8 or go crying into our wine glasses with sun glasses on.. but either way we sure are gonna be there.; wouldn’t miss this event for anything.
Just a thought : Maybe if we had more events like this we wouldn’t have the hate and division which has seem to over taken neighborly kindness, compassion and togetherness.
Ron says
Always a nice event at the airport.
Kabel says
I understand the relocation due to the countless men and women helping the hurricane victims in need. Bravo to event organizers who made the decision to keep the event going and finding another beautiful venue. Its true, vendors rely on these events as income. And attendees look forward to spending fun times with families and friends. Everyone enjoy.
America First 81 says
Yes, we must STOP the HATE because we are ALL Americans and the Rest of the World Only Wants America’s Taxpayer Funded Foreign Aid! Peace Thru Strenght! Appeasement Leads To WAR!