The Red River Valley Veterans Concert Band is one of six area bands booked for the Legion’s Summer Blast July 26-27, a fund-raiser for the Honor Flight of ND/MN. (Photos/Honor Flight.)
Nancy Edmonds Hanson
It began with the American Legion’s 100th anniversary. It was too good to let go. Ever since that big event in 2019, Moorhead’s Post 21 has hosted an outdoor summer celebration, now dedicated to raising funds for the Honor Flight of ND/MN.
But while the bands, the food trucks and the games have been bringing hundreds to the Legion’s grounds at 303 30th St. N. over the years, the 2024 Summer Blast on July 26 and 27 is almost guaranteed to draw ten times as many. That’s because the Moving Wall – a faithful reproduction the Vietnam Veterans Memorial – will be on hand for viewing.
It’s a half-size replica of the monumental tribute that Honor Flights transport veterans to view in Washington, D.C. Scott Moen, the Legion’s general manager, predicts as many as 5,000 to 8,000 visitors will view the Moving Wall during the four days it will be on view here, round the clock, based on what it’s drawn in other cities.
Meanwhile, the Legion lot will be rocking, starting at 5 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday. Summer Blast features three very different bands on the first day, starting with the Red River Valley Veterans Concert Band playing Dixieland. Rucus takes the stage at 7, followed by an AC/DC tribute band from Texas at 9 p.m.
Rick Adams takes the stage first at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Slamabama performs a tribute to Shania Twain and Taylor Swift at 7 that evening, followed by the Bohemian Queen tribute band at 9.
Food trucks will provide plenty to eat. Usher’s Food Truck will be serving its epic walleye sandwiches, while the El Zagal Misfits are bringing smoked barbecue. The Butcher Block and Enderlin’s Traxside truck will bring other options, and Chatty Bell’s Ice Cream will serve up frosty treats.
There’s more. Activities in the concert bowl include a dunk tank, ax throwing and mechanical bull both days, with a silent auction going on inside. Games to Go sets up on site all day Saturday to entertain the kids. Craft artisans and vendors will be on hand, too. The Legion Riders host a breakfast from 8 a.m. to noon Sunday.
Admission is $20 for a one-day pass or $30 for both days, with children 12 and under admitted free. All-you-can-bounce tickets for Saturday are $10.
There’s a reason the Legion and Honor Flight have planned the biggest fund-raiser yet, says Moen: The waiting list of veterans hoping to go on one of the flights to Washington has grown to nearly 1,000. Two flights will be departing from Fargo in September. Next year, though, the nonprofit group that arranges them hopes to send five flights eastward. Each flight carries around 100 veterans and requires $270,000 in funding.
“We lost two and a half years of flights due to COVID,” Moen explains. Meanwhile, the growing list of applicants is becoming more urgent because, he says, “these vets aren’t getting any younger.”
Hosting the Moving Wall serves the same purpose of honoring those who have served. The version coming to Moorhead is one of three touring the nation. The viewing is free. However, free-will donations will be welcomed.
Preparations are already underway in the area west of the Legion building. Moorhead Public Service has installed six light poles to illuminate the area each night. Two cranes will raise strings of flags above the monument. The Sertoma Club plans a display of 80 American flags. The display will open with a ceremony at 3 p.m. Thursday featuring the Red River Valley Veterans Concert Band and color guards from area veterans service clubs.
The Moving Wall has been touring the country for more than 309 years. Now based in Michigan, it was created after founder John Devitt attended the 1982 dedication of the official memorial in Washington. His intent: To share the solemn, sobering experience with those who did not have the opportunity to see the original in the nation’s capital.
Moen says the Legion and Honor Flight volunteers anticipate Summer Blast and the display will draw a record number of visitors this year. He points out that the weekend coincides with the Fargo AirSho at Hector Airport on Saturday and Sunday: “We could see as many as 10,000 people coming through the Legion that weekend.”
