The Brandon Scott Mullins Memorial Foundation along with Independence Bank will present “Kentucky Remembers” on Veterans Day this year, Saturday, November 11, 2017.
The day begins with a morning 5K, 1-Mile Walk and Fun Run for Little Warriors, followed in the afternoon by the Owensboro/Daviess County Veterans Day Parade, and concludes in the evening with a Celebration Concert at the Riverpark Center.
For more information, contact Cathy Mullins 270-316-9203 or visit the website.
5K, I Mile Walk, FUN RUN for Little Warriors @ 8:00 am
Now in its fourth year, Opening Ceremonies begin at 8:00 am at the Shelton Memorial. Registration is at 7:00 am in the Riverpark Center Lobby. The Fun Run for Little Warriors will be held after the race and is free to children 10 and under with all participants receiving a set of dog tags.
A free hot breakfast is being provided at the VFW Post 696 by the Auxiliary.
An all-day silent auction begins at the VFW during breakfast. Items will then be moved to the Riverpark Center lobby and the auction will conclude just before the concert begins at 7:00 pm.
Veterans Day Parade @ 2:00 pm
Kentucky Remembers is held the same day as the Owensboro/Daviess County Veterans Day Parade that begins at 2:00 p.m.
Soldiers from Fort Campbell and the Kentucky National Guard along with local high school bands and JROTC organizations are all part of this longest running Veterans Day Parade in the nation. Veterans service organizations and area Boy & Girl Scout troops.
For more information on how businesses or organization can participate in the Parade contact Lou Drawdy (270) 684-7501 or James Goodall (270) 275-4487.
Celebration Concert at the Riverpark Center @ 7:00 pm
This free concert is filled with special features and guests including Master of Ceremonies Chad Benefield, Jaclyn Graves, Tristan Aud, Emily and Mark Shelton, Tommy and Cathy Mullins along with the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra, Musick Studios and the Kentucky Remembers Chorale.
The “Armed Forces Salute” features all three high school color guards along with area Boy/Girl Scouts and Civil Air Patrol cadets.
Randy Lanham has gathered an ensemble of 30 fiddlers and guitarists for a Very Grand Finale!
Festival Seating, doors open at 5:00 pm, and the Wendall H. Ford Statesmanship Academy students will serve as host and hostesses for this free concert.
Concert Special Features to Note:
- “Parade of Nations”
The Owensboro/Daviess County community is home to people that are from at least 60 different countries from around the world. Families will be featured during a media presentation during the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra’s playing of “America the Beautiful”. Three families will be interviewed during the segment including a family who adopted a child with very special needs from Vietnam, a family whose patriarch just obtained US citizenship, and another local physician and celebrity who is currently in the process of seeking US citizenship. This “Parade of Nations” will come to life during the Grand Finale with everyone joining on stage.
- “The Noble Heirs”
This year’s concert will be a true “Red Carpet” event with the local premier of the mini-documentary and Cannes Film Festival honoree “The Noble Heirs”. John Sargant, who now lives in France, directed this critically acclaimed film in 2014 while living in Owensboro. Along with the help of Michael Hicks of Unique Video Productions, Matt Gray of Gray Sky Music, and the voice of Isabella Wethington, this story brings to life a series of events in France during WWII and the stories of the Frenchman who helped save their country along with the help of Allied Forces.
The Noble Heirs is a juxtaposition of life in France as it is today and as it was during World War ll. Stories from survivors are intertwined with stock footage, bringing to life the feelings of the times. The heroic efforts of French resistance and military fighters are linked to the American and British soldiers who liberated a specific region in the Rhône-Alpes of Northern Provence. The film concludes with a moving ceremony held in September 2014 to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of the liberation. Honored were all those living and dead who fought to defeat a common enemy.
