The 9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit is at the Kentucky State Fair. Here's what to know
Steel beams from the Word Trade Center. Recordings of first responders’ transmissions. First-hand accounts of horror.
The 9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit is a major attraction at the Kentucky State Fair. The memorial, which will be displayed all 11 days of the fair, is dedicated to first responders who died on Sept. 11, 2001, and in the aftermath of the terrorist attack. It includes documentary videos and interactive guided tours by New York City firefighters.
The exhibit is educational and “it’s a way to recognize our first responders, which plays a huge role in the lives and safety of all of us as Kentuckians and people in this country," said David Beck, president and CEO of the Kentucky State Fair Board.
The exhibit, part of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, is 1,100 square feet, “and all the items that are inside were found in the rubble of the two towers, and it's pretty interesting for the simple fact, the two towers were 110 stories tall,” said Bill Puckett, exhibit field manager. “Each floor was an acre, and some of the articles that we have are very small in nature and just to see these articles found in that massive destruction, it's pretty amazing."
John LaBarbera, a Tunnel to Towers Foundation board member and a retired New York City Fire Department battalion chief who was summoned on his day off when a plane struck the World Trade Center, said tour guides provide patrons with appropriate historical context surrounding the details of that fateful day.
You’ll find the exhibit in the South Wing “A” Lot, where it is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Aug. 28. The exhibit is included in the general admission cost for the fair.
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"We do not charge anyone anything extra," Puckett said. "We do have a donation box. If someone feels moved to make a donation to the foundation because ... everything we do is based off of a donation.”
But most importantly, “we just want people to come see part of that tragic day, but also to see what good came from that tragedy."
Reach Culture & Diversity reporter Jason Gonzalez at jgonzalez1@gannett.com.
How much are tickets for the 2022 Kentucky State Fair?
Online tickets are $10 per person, which includes parking. Advance admission tickets are only available online through kystatefair.org/tickets. Children 5 and under are free.
Admission at the gate is $10 per person and $10 to park per vehicle.
Kentucky State Fair admission and ride wristbands are available online via Ticketmaster and at all participating Kroger locations. Visit kystatefair.org/tickets for details.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: 9/11 Never Forget Mobile Exhibit displayed at the Kentucky State Fair
