ABILENE, Kan. -  The third annual Symphony at Sunset D-Day Commemoration Concert begins at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 7, on the grounds of the Eisenhower Presidential Library. The 1st Infantry Division Band will perform the opening act, followed at 8:30 p.m. with the headline performance by the Salina Symphony. Kansas City-based jazz vocalist Eboni Fondren is joining the Symphony as a guest artist to perform a number of patriotic and big band favorites. Admission is by a $5 minimum suggested donation (no charge for children 12 & under).  

Families are encouraged to bring blankets and eat on the grounds. Food and beverage vendors will be open noon to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday offering a variety of meal and beverage options. No outside coolers will be permitted. Random security checks of bags and containers will be in place.

The concert wraps up two full days of events for the D-Day+70 Years commemorative weekend that begins Friday, June 6, at 9 a.m. with a Remembrance Ceremony and rifle salute. The Ritchie Boys, an elite unit comprised of Jewish refugees who returned to Europe as Allied soldiers, will be the topic of focus Friday afternoon with a film and talk by Dr. Guy Stern sharing his Life as a Ritchie Boy. Friday evening there will be a gala reception (prior reservations required) marking the opening of three new exhibits. The weekend will include four gallery talks by the Eisenhower curatorial team scheduled every 30 minutes beginning at 10 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. Military re-enactors will provide narrated weapons demonstrations at their encampment both days at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 5 p.m.

Saturday events continue beginning with the D-Day Plus 20 Years film featuring Eisenhower returning to Normandy with Walter Cronkite. Immediately following is a talk delving into the exact words used by Dwight Eisenhower when giving the final "go" decision. The afternoon features panel discussions sharing stories of those on the home front and on the battlefields and is followed by award-winning biographer/historian Nigel Hamilton discussing this important anniversary. 

The D-Day+70 Years commemorative weekend includes a C-47 flyover at approximately 5 p.m. on Saturday. More than 1,000 C-47s dropped paratroopers behind enemy lines as part of Operation Overlord. The aircraft will be on view at the Abilene Municipal Airport most of Saturday, June 7. Additionally, the campus grounds will be scattered with a number of WWII-era military equipment and vehicles including a Sherman tank, tank destroyer, half track, jeeps and a motorcycle.  

Event details are available on the Eisenhower Presidential Library website along with some things you should know about the weekend. The Symphony at Sunset rain date is June 8 at 8:30 p.m. 

The Symphony at Sunset concert is generously sponsored by Marshall Motors in Salina, Kan. The World War II Remembered exhibit has a number of extremely generous sponsors including the Emma Balsiger Foundation, Dane E. Hansen Foundation and the William T. Kemper Foundation. A complete list of exhibit donors and information on how you can be a sponsor can be found on our website at www.eisenhower.archives.gov.