The annual Freedom Celebration put on by the Park County Republican Party is taking a year off from its usual location at Wyoming Veterans Memorial Park to honor aviation.

This year’s hour-long, free event to honor military veterans is 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 3 at a hangar next to Choice Aviation.

Organizer Nicole Forsberg said its both a tribute to late longtime T-34 pilot Glen Schultz, who was a friend of organizer Carol Armstrong, and of Armstrong herself, whose husband was a World War II pilot.

“We chose to do this venue as a tribute to pilots, and a tribute to Carol’s years of putting this on,” said Forsberg, whose family includes many members in the Air Force.

This year’s primary guest speaker is Air Force Integrated Avionics Systems Craftsman Honie Tolman, who comes from a seventh-generation Clark family and now works on modern jets such as F-15s.

Before the traditional flyover by T-34 trainer aircraft, one of the longtime T-34 pilots, Bo Ewald, will also speak.

“This year it’s all centered around aviation,” Forsberg said.

She said all of the major dignitaries will be there, from Wyoming’s Washington delegation to state and local dignitaries, except for Gov. Mark Gordon, who is missing one for the first time in his years as governor, Forsberg said.

— By Zac Taylor