This Saturday morning, SoAR will have a float in Roswell’s Frances McGahee Youth Day Parade from 10AM to 11:30AM. The float will include Burl Finkelstein’s massive V2 and Everett Stowes 1/25th Saturn V (along with posters and other rockets).
Youth Day has been a long-standing tradition in Roswell that began in 1950 when a group of parents decided to sponsor a parade and a day of activities to honor the youth of the city. In 1951, Mayor Ford Rucker proclaimed the second Saturday in October as “Roswell Youth Day,” and each year the tradition grows stronger within the community.
The 69th Annual Frances McGahee Youth Day Parade begins immediately after the 23rd Annual Historic Roswell 5K Road Race at 10:00 a.m. The parade will begin at First Baptist Church on Mimosa Boulevard and end in Roswell Area Park on Woodstock Road. This year’s theme is “Be Someone’s Hero.”
If you’re a SoAR member (and especially if you have kids that can be on the float), you can participate by meeting at 9AM at the First Baptist Church.
SoAR will be participating in two different activities recognizing the 50th Anniversary of the landing of Apollo 11 on the Moon on Saturday, July 20.
First, a few SoAR members will be at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History to introduce those interested to Model Rocketry and to tell the story of the Mighty Saturn V and the Astronauts who went to the Moon. Everett Stowe will have his 1/25th Saturn V on display there, and there will be other Apollo themed models. The display will be from 10AM until 1PM.
At the same time, up in Dawsonville, we will have our Apollo 11 celebration launch from 10AM to 3PM. This will be the last Dawsonville launch until September. The weather situation looks a lot like last Saturday, with threats of thunder showers but calm winds and lots of sun. It just depends on if and when the rain comes and how long it will be.
Last week the National Association of Rocketry announced that the National Sport Launch, scheduled for Memorial Day in Colorado, has been postponed until next year. Monday, the Tripoli Rocketry Association similarly postponed its annual launch LDRS until next year. Both events will stay at their current venues. Previously the NAR had postponed its National Rocketry Festival including the NARAM-62 competition to next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NAR’s yearly board elections, normally held at the Association Meeting at NARAM will be held online and through mail ballots.
NAR President John Hochheimer issued a statement April 28, 2020 updating the NAR’s COVID-19 policy. The full statement is on the NAR’s Facebook page, and should be on the NAR’s website shortly, but here is the summation:
Policy – Effective April 28, 2020 the NAR policy on scheduled section and NRC launches, section meetings, and large gatherings is that NAR sections follow all applicable national, state, and local requirements, restrictions, and recommendations for the physical location of the event(s).
This policy will probably remain in effect indefinitely. It essentially means that each section must deal with COVID-19 rules at the local level. What this means for SoAR is not yet clear, but the SoAR Board will discuss ways of conducting launches and meetings that will comply with federal, state, and local laws and guidance. Keep checking here, the SoAR Facebook group, and SoAR’s forums on groups.io for more info.
SoAR will be participating in two different activities recognizing the 50th Anniversary of the landing of Apollo 11 on the Moon on Saturday, July 20.