BLOSSBURG, PA – The Moving Wall, a half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. will be on display at Blossburg’s Island Park during the 2017 Blossburg State Coal Festival scheduled for Wednesday, May 31 through Saturday, June 4.
The 2017 Coal Festival will mark the 25th anniversary of the festival. “We wanted this year’s festival to be special,’ said David Thompson, president of the Coal Festival Committee. ‘The opportunity to host the Moving Wall gave us a chance to honor those who have served our country and to provide our community with the chance to experience what those visiting the national memorial in Washington experience.’
The wall will be displayed and accessible around the clock beginning with an opening ceremony and concluding with a closing ceremony. Visiting the wall will be free of charge.
The Moving Wall, based in White Pine Michigan, was founded after John Devitt, a former helicopter crew chief and Army veteran attended the 1982 dedication ceremony of the national memorial in Washington D.C. The Moving Wall was completed after nearly two years and was erected for the first time in Tyler, Texas in October of 1984.
Two versions of The Moving Wall travel the country spending four to five days at each site between April and November.
The Blossburg State Coal Festival has been held on Blossburg’s Island Park annually since 1992 and celebrates the area’s rich history in the coal mining industry. For more information on the history of the festival and for the latest schedule of events, please visit the festival’s website at www.coalfestival.com.