Earhart Festival

Earhart (Amelia) Festival

Weekend closest to July 24To celebrate the birthday of noted aviator and Atchison native Amelia Earhart, the town of Atchison, Kans., holds the Amelia Earhart Festival on the weekend closest to her July 24th birthday. Earhart was born in Atchison in 1897 and lived there with her grandparents until 1908. The winner of many world records in the history of aviation, Earhart was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean on her own. In 1937, while attempting to fly around the world, Earhart went missing over the Pacific Ocean and is presumed to have crashed.
The festival began in 1997 to mark the 100th anniversary of the hometown heroine's birth. Among the weekend events are aerobatic performances over the Missouri River, including an exhibition of wing-walking, a birthday party for Earhart, including free cake, an outdoor country music concert, a one-hour trolley tour of Earhart-related sites in town, a children's stage featuring puppet shows and live animals, a toy airplane contest, talks and documentary films about Earhart's life, and a riverside fireworks display set to music. The Amelia Earhart Pioneering Achievement Award is also presented to a woman who has contributed to the field of aviation.
CONTACTS:
Atchison Chamber of Commerce
200 S. 10th St.
Atchison, KS 66002
800-234-1854
www.atchisonkansas.net