COLUMBUS (AP) — John Glenn’s birthplace and childhood hometown in Ohio are celebrating what would have been the history-making astronaut and U.S. senator’s 100th birthday with a three-day festival.
Glenn became a national hero after becoming the first American to orbit Earth in 1962. He died in 2016.
The John Glenn Centennial Celebration runs Friday through Sunday.
It’s a collaboration between Glenn’s birthplace of Cambridge and nearby New Concord, where he grew up and met his late wife, Annie.
Festivities include a parade from Cambridge to New Concord, a “Friendship 7-Miler” race named for Glenn’s famous aircraft, biplane and rocket car rides, space movies, children’s science activities and music.
Ohio State University’s John Glenn College of Public Affairs has updated seven display cases in Page Hall with Glenn memorabilia.
A pending Ohio House resolution urges Congress to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Glenns.