Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s ‘9/11 NEVER FORGET’ Mobile Exhibit Coming to Florence
WHAT: meetNKY Convention & Visitors Bureau and officials with the City of Florence have partnered with the nonprofit, Tunnel to Towers Foundation, to bring the 9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit to the region. Events and opportunities for visuals and interviews include:
- 1 p.m. on Friday, May 5, 2023 – First responders will escort the 9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit from the Outlet Centers in Dry Ridge, Ky., to the Florence Government Center.
- 11 a.m. Saturday, May 6 – An opening ceremony will be held at the Florence City Center, where residents of Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati can then pay their respects to the first responders who lost their lives at the World Trade Center on 9/11 and from 9/11-related illnesses by visiting the exhibit, which will be open Saturday, May 6 through Sunday, May 14.
- LOCATION:
9/11 Never Forget Mobile Exhibit
Florence Government Center
8100 Ewing Blvd., Florence, Ky. 41042
EXHIBIT HOURS:
Noon – 6 p.m. Saturday, May 6 through Sunday, May 14, except for Friday May 12 10a-4 p.m.
- 6:20p.m., Friday, May 12: The Florence Y’alls will honor first responders during a First Responders Night at Thomas More Stadium. Remarks will be delivered by local dignitaries honoring New York firefighters who responded to the attack on the World Trade Center on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. Local first responders and their families will receive free entrance to the game, which starts at 7:03 p.m.
- LOCATION:
Florence Y’alls First Responder Night
Thomas More Stadium
7950 Freedom Way, Florence, Ky. 41042
WHO: Julie Kirkpatrick, President & CEO of meetNKY; Julie Metzger Aubuchon, Florence Mayor; and other local dignitaries will speak during the opening ceremony on Saturday, May 6 at 11 a.m. They, along with the 9/11 first responders and other local dignitaries will be present for the opening of the Florence Y’alls baseball game on Friday, May 12.
Tours of the exhibit will be given by New York Fire Department firefighters and New York State police who were eyewitnesses to 9/11 and provide firsthand accounts. For bios and dates of those first responders providing tours of the exhibit, along with additional information and assets on the exhibit, click here.
WHY: The nonprofit Tunnel to Towers created the traveling 9/11 memorial to honor New York firefighter Stephen Siller and others who gave their lives in the line of duty during the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
The foundation worked with meetNKY Convention & Visitors Bureau and officials with the City of Florence to bring its mobile memorial to town. This 83-foot tractor-trailer transforms into a 1,100 square-foot exhibit where visitors can hear audio recordings of first responder radio transmissions and see one-of-a-kind artifacts, including pieces of World Trade Center steel, aluminum façade from the buildings and items recovered from the rubble after the Twin Towers collapsed.
The Florence Y’alls First Responders Night and the arrival of the 9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit coincide with the 40th anniversary of National Travel and Tourism Week, which takes place May 7-13. The week highlights travel as a key economic driver in the U.S., including the Northern Kentucky/ Cincinnati region, where the travel industry accounts for 12,000 jobs.
For more information about the 9/11 NEVER FORGET mobile exhibit, Y’alls baseball game, and other events taking place during National Travel and Tourism Week, visit meetnky.com.
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About meetNKY:
meetNKY drives quality of life and economic growth for Northern Kentucky through tourism marketing and destination development. Learn more at meetnky.com.