Rocket City Summer Fest 2019 was a BLAST! Coinciding with the 50^th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing Anniversary, Space Camp Alumni from across the country and folks from all across the greater Huntsville region turned out for a week long party! It was one of the biggest celebration of space achievement for Space Camp Alumni to take part in yet!

There were activities all throughout the week both, in the community of Huntsville and hosted at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. The week kicked off on Saturday July 13, 2019 with a Celebration Car Show with cars from the Apollo 11 era on display. A full-scale replica of the moon rover made by Polaris Industries was also featured.

On Tuesday July 16^th, 2019 the U.S. Space & Rocket Center hosted a history making event, with a Guinness Book of World Records Global Rocket Launch! 5,000 model rockets were launched simultaneously at the same time that the Apollo 11 rocket launched from Earth 50 years ago. Participants from all over the globe also signed up to launch their own rockets in their backyards, to make it one of the biggest celebrations of a rocket launch in world history.

Special guests were invited to an Apollo 11 Homecoming Celebration Dinner at the Davidson Center on Wednesday July 17^th, 2019, and included former astronauts, relatives of Wernher von Braun, and notable NASA attendees. This was a time of reflection and celebration on the great achievements of the past half century.

Dancing in the Streets was a street party reenacting the joyous celebration after the success of Apollo11. Wernher von Braun famously said, “My friends, there was dancing here in the streets of Huntsville when our first satellite orbited the Earth and there was dancing again when the first Americans landed on the moon. I’d like to ask you don’t hang up your dancing slippers.” And dance the crowd did, with multiple bands around the square in Huntsville, the large crowd that turned out for food and fun came with their dancing slippers on!

The week culminated with Rocket City Summer Fest Moon Landing Concert on Saturday July 20^th, 2019 under the shadow of the iconic Saturn V replica. The Black Jacket Symphony presented “Party of the Year” with music from the 1960s to present. At the end of the evening, the University of Alabama presented lunar images on the Saturn V replica rocket.

Rocket City Summer Fest 2019 was a wonderful celebration of alumni and the achievements of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Next year, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center celebrates 50 years as well and will be sure to be an event you won’t want to miss! Mark your calendars now to save the date for Summer Fest 2020 in July!