Throughout Florida and the nation, events, special shows and business discounts are scheduled to recognize veterans, their families and those who are currently serving. Keep checking back for updates.
A map of Veterans Day observances throughout the United States is provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs: Celebrate our Veterans this Veterans Day. Participate in Veterans Day events across the country on Nov. 11, and join VA as we #ThankAVet on social media.
On the Washington D.C. Mall is The Concert for Valor at 7 p.m. It’s open to the public and free. You can watch it on HBO or take a photo of yourself with your hand over your heart, send it to #TheConcertforValor.
Monday, Nov. 10, 2014
TAMPA – 10 a.m.– A tribute to those who have served is set at Joe Chillura Courthouse Square, corner of Madison and Kennedy, in downtown. The keynote speaker is Vice Admiral Sean Pybus, U.S. Special Operations Command.
TAMPA - 1 p.m. - Monroe Middle School, 4716 Montgomery Ave. Brigadier General Timothy McGuire, U.S. Army, is the guest of honor as students and staff honor veterans with a school-wide program. Robinson High School’s ROTC Honor Guard will participate as will the Monroe MS JROTC.
TAMPA - 7:30 p.m. - A concert, held at the University of South Florida Concert Hall, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., is scheduled to benefit K9s For Warriors. The non-profit organization is dedicated to providing service canines to veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress and/or traumatic brain injury as a result of military service post 9/11. The Central Florida Composers Forum and Timucua Arts Foundation are presenting the benefit concert. Sovereign Brass performs mostly new music composed for the occasion and poets will recite their short poems also written to honor veterans. Another concert Nov. 11 is scheduled at Community Presbyterian, Atlantic Beach, FL.
Tuesday, Nov. 11 – Veterans Day
ALL FLORIDA STATE PARKS - To celebrate Veterans Day on Nov. 11, entry into all state parks is free to veterans and the general public as a tribute to Veterans Day. Here's the list of state parks: http://www.floridastateparks.org/thingstodo/deals.cfm
DAVENPORT - 8 a.m.-5 p.m. - A replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, reduced in scale, is the is set up as the Veterans' Day highlight at Polk County’s Visitor Information Center, Polk Outpost 27 in Davenport. Visitors to the event who have family members who served in Vietnam are also asked to bring photos with them to the exhibit, to share with future visitors. Admission is free. Attendees who bring a non-perishable food item to be donated to local charities will receive one chance to win a $50 gift card for each food item donated. The visitor information center is located at 101 Adventure Court in Davenport, 1/2 mile south of I-4 (along U.S. Highway 27) at Exit 55. For more information contact Dennis Budde at 863-232-6624.
TAMPA - 9 a.m. - Hillsborough County in collaboration with the Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative and the City of Tampa, will launch Operation: REVEILLE-Tampa/Hillsborough County. The event is scheduled at Port Tampa Bay – Terminal #6 on 1333 E. McCay St. The goal is to end homelessness by rapidly rehousing 50 Veterans into permanent supportive housing. In addition to housing, they will be offered intensive case management, health, mental health and substance abuse treatment as well as Social Security and Veteran benefits. Employment opportunities, job training, legal assistance, financial counseling, and transportation will also be available.
CLEARWATER – 9 a.m. – A dedication of the Clearwater Wall of Honor at the Clearwater Main Library, 100 N. Osceola Ave. The historical exhibit honors Clearwater’s World War I service members whose names were discovered during the renovation of the Capitol Theatre. Painted by hand on a bare brick face and sealed from view during the theatre’s original construction in 1920 and 1921. The Tampa Bay Veteran’s Alliance, Congressman David Jolly, Clearwater Mayor George N. Cretekos, City and Clearwater Library officials, members of the public and military veterans. Preceding the dedication ceremony there will be a special program sponsored by the Tampa Bay Veterans Alliance.
TAMPA – 10 a.m. - James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital and Clinics, 13000 Bruce B Downs Blvd, host its 7th annual Veterans Day parade, classic car show and Welcome Home event on the hospital campus. It opens with a brief ceremony in front of the Fisher House followed by the parade with 70 units confirmed and grand marshall, U.S. Army Maj. Robert Kilmartin, awarded the Bronze Star Medal and two Purple Heart Medals. A cookout, sponsored by Operation Helping Hand, is planned afterward.
SARASOTA – 10 a.m. - The annual Veterans Day parade in downtown Sarasota is to begin at Main Street and Osprey Avenue. At approximately 11 a.m., a ceremony at Chaplain J.D. Hamel Park, Main Street and Gulfstream Avenue, featuring keynote Michael Burns, a F-4 Phantom jet fighter pilot during Vietnam who was shot down and spent nearly five years as prisoner of war in Hanoi, Vietnam. The theme for the 2014 Veterans Day ceremony is “Honoring Those Who Served."
ST. PETERSBURG – 11 a.m. - The Bay Pines VA Healthcare System will host its annual Veterans Day Ceremony at the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center Campus, 10000 Bay Pines Boulevard North. Highlights: musical performances by the Keswick Christian School Choir; a special parade of colors; guest speakers U.S. Air Force Col. Patrick Ryder, U.S. Central Command; U.S. Rep. David W. Jolly, and Suzanne M. Klinker, Director, Bay Pines VAHCS. A shuttle service will also be available to provide transportation for guest from parking lots to the ceremony area. For directions http://www.baypines.va.gov/locations/directions.asp
SAINT LEO – 11 a.m. – A Veterans Day Commemoration, a free event open to the community, is planned at Saint Leo University, in the Student Community Center, 33701 State Road 52, four miles east of Interstate 75 (Exit 285) in the town of Saint Leo. The keynote speaker is K. Steven Collier, U.S. Army (Ret.), a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and upon retirement, Collier returned to Dade City and founded a company, Technology – Management & Innovative Solutions.
TAMPA – 7 p.m. - Writers and U.S. Army veterans Brooke King and Lorie Jewell will read their prose and poetry at Inkwood Books, 216 S. Armenia Avenue. The reading is free and open to the public. King, an adjunct professor of English at Saint Leo University, served in the U. S. Army and deployed to Iraq in 2006 as a wheel vehicle mechanic, machine gunner, and recovery specialist. Jewell, of Land O’ Lakes, is a 15-year veteran of the U.S. Army and the Florida National Guard with three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
ATLANTIC BEACH - 7:30 p.m. - A concert, held at the Community Presbyterian Church, 150 Sherry Dr, is scheduled to benefit K9s For Warriors. The non-profit organization is dedicated to providing service canines to veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress and/or traumatic brain injury as a result of military service post 9/11. The Central Florida Composers Forum and Timucua Arts Foundation are presenting the benefit concert. Sovereign Brass performs mostly new music composed for the occasion and poets will recite their short poems also written to honor veterans.
NATIONWIDE - The Special Operations Warrior Foundation has a nationwide fundraiser planned in conjunction with Painting with a Twist. The Foundation is a top-rated nonprofit organization that supports the military's Special Operations Forces and their families through college scholarships for the surviving children of fallen Special Operations Forces, educational and family counseling, and Immediate $3,000 financial grants to severely-wounded Special Operations Forces service members. More than 100 Painting with a Twist franchises are participating.
Veterans' Day Give-Aways
FLORIDA AQUARIUM – The Florida Aquarium, 701 Channelside Drive, Tamp, is offering any Veteran, active duty, Drilling Reservist or National Guardsman two free Florida Aquarium admission tickets for themselves and a guest on Veterans Day, Nov. 11 from 9:30 a.m.- 5 p.m. Additional family members (up to 4 people) can receive 50% off admission. You must present military ID or DD214 at time of purchase. Offer cannot be combined with any other discounts or coupons.
GOLDEN CORRAL - Golden Corral is offering free dinner buffets and beverages on Nov. 17, 2014 from 5-9 p.m. to any active-duty and retired U.S. military personnel to thank them for their service. In addition, it will raise donations for the Disabled American Veterans (DAV). At all of its restaurants nationwide, it’s open to any person who is serving or has served in a United States Military branch, including the National Guard and Reserves – identification is not required.
GREAT CLIPS - Great Clips “Thank a Veteran” promotion offers veterans a free haircut starting on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, through Dec. 31, 2014. Customers can also get involved by giving veterans a free haircut card they can redeem through the end of the year. On Nov. 11, customers who come in for a haircut at any U.S. Great Clips salon will receive a free haircut card to give to an active, inactive, or retired military member of any branch, including the National Guard. Military members can also come in on Veterans Day for a free haircut or to pick up a free haircut card to use, with proof of service, through Dec. 31, 2014. After Nov. 11, veterans must have a free haircut card to get the free haircut.
KER’S WINGHOUSE - Ker’s WingHouse Bar & Grill is showing its gratitude for veterans and active duty military personnel this Veterans Day. On Tuesday, Nov. 11, WingHouse invites all veterans and active military to enjoy free boneless wings with any drink purchase, by presenting a military ID or proof of service at any of WingHouse’s 24 locations across Florida.
