KILL DEVIL HILLS, NC,
September 25, 2003

Ticket sales for the First Flight Centennial Celebration continue their upward climb as people from all over the world plan to come to the very site where the historic first manned, powered, controlled flights were made by Orville and Wilbur Wright. As of September 21, with less than three months to go, 120,066 tickets have been sold for the First Flight Centennial Celebration, taking place December 12-17, 2003 at Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, NC.

"We encourage those who haven't done so to purchase their tickets as soon as possible," said Lawrence A. Belli, Superintendent of the National Park Service's Outer Banks Group. "Tickets are still available for all days. The National Park Service, the State of North Carolina and all of our centennial partners have created a memorable and fitting celebration in honor of these two brothers who changed the world."

Belli also added that event planners have set the daily maximum capacity of the park at 35,000 attendees in order to provide the best visitor experience.

Ticket breakout per day is:
 
Friday December 12 - non-ticketed day
Saturday December 13 - 22,290 tickets
Sunday, December 14 - 22,091 tickets
Monday, December 15 - 22,176 tickets
Tuesday, December 16 - 23,617 tickets
Wednesday, December 17 - 29,892 tickets

The majority of tickets sold to date have been in five-day package increments, accounting for 21,681 tickets each day. Fewer buyers purchased individual day tickets. December 17 had the highest number of individual day sales with 8,211 tickets.

Individual one-day tickets are $10 per day. If an individual adult purchases entrance tickets for all five days at the time of original purchase, the package price is a one-time fee of $25. However, once 35,000 tickets have been sold for any of the days, the five-day ticket packages will no longer be available. Individual one-day tickets for the four previous days will still be available for purchase at $10 per day until the 35,000-ticket limit has been reached for each of those days.

Senior citizens, age 62 and over, and disabled individuals may purchase a daily ticket for $5 each, while available. Incentive package price for all five days is $20.

Although children age 12 and under are free, they will still need a ticket to enter the park.

The ticket entitles the ticket holder to shuttle transportation between Wright Brothers National Memorial and designated remote parking sites plus access to all buildings, grounds, exhibits and performances open to the general public at the memorial during the event. Seating is not included in the price; chairs may be rented on site.

Tickets are currently available online at http://www.wrightbrothers.reserveworld.com or by calling 1-800-973-7327, or (301) 722-1257 for callers outside of the United States.

All of the most recent information on the First Flight Centennial Celebration can be accessed at the Centennial website on http://www.firstflightcentennial.org. For information on accommodations, check the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau website at http://www.outerbanks.org or call their toll-free number at (877) 298-4373.

Contact:

Erin Porter
Centennial Planning Office
Tel: 252 441 6291, ext. 224
ErinPorterNPS@aol.com