2012 EVENING PROGRAM SCHEDULE

Evening programs are held in the Florida Air Museum’s Pavilion sponsored by AOPA, located adjacent to the Museum. The Pavilion is a covered open-air amphitheater with seating for 800 and a state-of-the-art Bose® audio system. It will serve as the center for a week-long schedule of topical and engaging evening programs and the after program feature films. All evening programs are included in the day’s admission and to “$5 after 5:00 PM” admissions on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday; “$10 after 5:00 PM” on Thursday and Friday.



Evening Programs begin at 8:00 PM followed by the evening’s film at approximately 9:30 PM, depending on the evening’s preceding program.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Commencement of SUN 'n FUN’s Celebration of the Centennial of Marine Aviation 

The Parris Island Marine Band will kick-off the week-long SUN 'n FUN 2012 Evening Programs. The Parris Island Marine Concert Band is dedicated to upholding and displaying the highest standards and traditions of the United States Marine Corps.

The 50 musicians of the Parris Island Marine Band and their Band Officer have spanned the continental United States entertaining audiences with a variety of music. Concert selections include familiar patriotic marches, overtures, instrumental solos, traditional classics, and contemporary pop favorites. The Band travels in excess of 25,000 miles annually, carrying on a long-standing tradition of excellence and service to both Corps and Country.

The Band will be under the direction of Band Officer CWO2 Joshua Stone. 

For more info on The Parris Island Marine Band visit their website at http://www.mcrdpi.usmc.mil/band/index.asp.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

SUN 'n FUN commemorates the 40th Anniversary of Apollo 17 and the Apollo “Lunar” Program.
Sponsored by:

SUN 'n FUN is pleased to present Dr. Harrison H. Schmitt, one the three crew members of the final historic mission that represented the conclusion of the Apollo program that spanned nine years from 1963 to 1972. Apollo 17 represents the last lunar landing mission and the crew was the last of 12 humans to step on and explore the surface of the moon.

Astronaut Schmitt served as Apollo 17’s Lunar Module Pilot. He joined two other infamous NASA explorers on the mission, Eugene A. Cernan, Commander and Ronald E. Evans, Command Module Pilot.

Astronaut Jack Schmitt was the first scientist-astronaut to land on the moon. Over the course of 75 hours on the lunar surface, he and Commander Cernan set up six automated research stations, gathered 243 pounds of material, and used the lunar rover vehicle to traverse 30.5 kilometers of the lunar surface.

Harrison Hagan Schmitt, a remarkably accomplished native of Silver City, NM, has the diverse experience of a geologist, pilot, astronaut, administrator, businessman, writer, and U. S. Senator. Among many tributes and honors he has been inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame and the International Space Hall of Fame and has received honorary degrees from eight U.S. and Canadian universities.  Dr. Schmitt is co-founder and Chairman of Interlune-Intermars Initiative, Inc., advancing the private sector’s acquisition of lunar resources and Helium-3 fusion power and clinical use of medical isotopes produced by fusion-related processes. He is the author of “Return to the Moon” (Springer-Praxis, 2006) that describes a private enterprise approach to providing lunar helium-3 fusion energy resources for use on Earth.

Thursday, March 29, 2012
 

CAF's, Aaron Tippin: "Red, White & Loud" Concert
Sponsored by: 

Country music star, passionate pilot and patriot, Aaron Tippin will perform his "Red, White & Loud" musical tribute to America’s freedom and those who have sacrificed to protect it on the SUN 'n FUN Florida Air Museum’s AOPA sponsored Pavilion stage Thursday evening, March 29. The evening’s concert pairs Tippin with the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) famous warbird, Super Fortress Fifi.  This Boeing B-29 will arrive earlier in the week to fly in the SUN 'n FUN daily Airshow and give tours throughout the entire week.  Tippin’s multi-media show will evoke the drama and power this icon of the U.S. aviation history, proudly restored and flown by the Commemorative Air Force, Midland, TX.

Aaron Tippin is a platinum-selling recording artist and songwriter with 13 CDs and more than 30 charted singles, including “Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagles Fly”, “You’ve Got to Stand for Something” and “Kiss This”.  His live performances have wowed audiences across the country due to his skills as a showman and love for his country.

Tippin is a force of nature, a man whose passion for music fuels an array of other vigorous interests.  Apart from writing and recording songs and wowing crowds with his live appearances, he is also a pilot, farmer, winemaker, outdoorsman, competitive bodybuilder and devoted family man.  He even runs his own record label.  It's no surprise then that so many in the music industry regard this tireless South Carolinian as the "Hillbilly Hercules."  

The concert will begin at 8:00 PM.  Seating is available to all SUN 'n FUN weekly or Thursday ticket (wristband)  wearers on a first come, first serve basis. A Special “$10 after 5:00 p.m.” admission rate to the show site has been announced for those interested in attending the Concert.  Parking will be in SUN 'n FUN’s Main Parking lot off West Pipkin Road.  Dinner and beverages will be available prior to the concert in the SUNSET GRILL on the SUN 'n FUN campus.

 

Friday, March 30, 2012

SUN 'n FUN 's Friday Night Airshow & Fireworks -
Sponsored by:

As the sun begins to set behind the western horizon, the skies over the SUN 'n FUN flightline on Lakeland Linder Airport will ignite with the pyrotechnic artistry of several world-class aerobatic flyers that create one of the signature highlights of the SUN 'n FUN experience each year – the Friday Night Airshow. You will witness the streaming flares and shower of red, yellow, blue, and white bursts throughout the show that is skillfully choreographed overhead. This year the evening spectacle will include the skillful work of the Aeroshell Team, Bill Leff, Steve Oliver, Roger Buis, Manfred Radius, Gene Soucy and Matt Younkin.

As soon as the sky is quieted from the sounds of props and rotors, the night darkness erupts again in a blaze of fireworks. The SUN 'n FUN fightline is pulsed with peonies, chrysanthemums, willows, dahlias, waterfalls and horsetails (to name a few) that will awe even the most seasoned as the Friday fireworks build to its crescendo.

SUN ’n FUN’s Flightline Club is a great option for your Friday outing at SUN ‘n FUN.  The Club offers VIP comfort and flightline access throughout the entire day and evening. It provides unobstructed flightline views of the day’s Airshow, including the afternoon practice of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and one of the best seats on the field for the evening’s Night Airshow.
 

Saturday, March 31, 2012

The Flying Musicians, Jeremy Brady, will open these two great performances at 7:00 p.m.

Comedy & Music of the WWII Era
Prepare yourself for a nostalgic night of laughs and romantic memories.
Sponsored by:


The Ultimate Abbott & Costello Tribute Show

Bill Riley and Joe Ziegler transform themselves into Bud Abbott and Lou Costello through vintage dress and an authentic recreation of the team's mannerisms and vocal stylings. They perform with pinpoint accuracy many of the vaudeville and burlesque routines made famous by Bud and Lou on stage, screen, radio and television, including the classic baseball routine, "Who's On First?". Jason Crutchley joins Bill and Joe in their on-stage antics as "Scoop Fields-Ace Press Agent." 

Click here to check out their website.
Click here to see video of this amazing performance.

Also performing, Theresa Eaman, Retro-Songbird.

“From the sultry to the soulful to full-steam ahead. Eaman leads a musical charge into yesteryear as evocative as it is enjoyable”.  Dante Murphy, RetroSpective.

Theresa Eaman, a classically trained vocalist, has been performing since her early teens and has branched off to specialize in jazz standards and re-enacting the music of the WWII era. A lifetime of appreciation of all of the vocal “masters” has enabled her to present the listener with her own renditions of their favorite songs while incorporating the stylings of the original recordings. Her performances celebrate eras where music made people laugh, cry and fall in love. . Click here for more info about Theresa Eaman.