Patriotic Celebration at Orlando International Airport

Proudly waiving American flags, wearing red, white and blue pins and listening to patriotic tunes from the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, hundreds of Central Floridians gathered with people from all over the world at Orlando International Airport to celebrate Liberty Weekend.

In honor of the recipient of this year’s Colonel Joe Kittinger Award, for a local military member who has helped further the cause of aviation, the theme for the festive event was “The Sky is the Limit”. Hall of fame astronaut Dr. Story Musgrave received the honor for a lifetime of aviation accomplishments including flying over 160 different types of aircraft, logging in over 18,000 flight hours, making over 800 parachute freefalls, being a NASA astronaut for over 30 years and fixing the Hubble space telescope.

The annual event, which is unique in the nation, transforms the airport’s Hyatt Hotel atrium into a concert hall; complete with festive 4th of July decorations and a Navy color guard.