Apollo 11 launch – CREDIT: NASA History Office

On Tuesday, July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 was Launched from Kennedy Space Center. Right in our neighborhood.

So … St. Gabriel’s is hosting a free ANNIVERSARY LAUNCH BREAKFAST in our Parish Hall. 

Members of the NASA Alumni League and Missile and Space Range Pioneers will be there to share their stories of that momentous day. Grammy Award-winning pianist Oliver Wells will play “Moon” songs. Ike Rigel, deputy launch director for all the Apollo missions, will be present to autograph copies of his book.

Then, exactly 50 years later, we will replay the launch video.

We’ll distribute commemorative coins with the 50th Anniversary Apollo Launch on one side, and the 150th Anniversary of St. Gabriel’s on the other side. Those coins enable our guests to visit the American Space Museum across the street from the church.

 Then on Saturday, July 20, we are hosting a Landing Party with the same guest list. We’ll have a “Tang” toast and eat “space” ice cream followed by a sneak peek into the Pritchard House, a 19th-century Victorian home and museum.