And they launched a stretch limo over the cliff too.
“The day just kind of takes care of itself,” Hrncir says. “We just focus on the ‘F’ words: freedom, family, food, and fun.”
A tradition
Before 2005, the summer holiday was celebrated with a small parade and gathering for the local community. But when the Matanuska River swelled and swallowed up the parade route, long-time festival organizer Arnie Hrncir decided to do something different. His wife’s Volvo had recently had a run-in with a moose and was no longer safe for the road—so it was chosen to be the first airborne guinea pig. Hrncir wanted to see if it was worth planning an entire event around a car launch in this rural stretch of the 49th state.
“It was just so fun, we decided we needed to do it again and again,” Hrncir says. In the years that followed, the event grew from a small gathering to one of the largest July 4th events in Alaska.
Most years they’ve launched six vehicles, although in 2020, they had 11. Hrncir says they expect to have roughly a dozen this year. Some are donated by friends or sponsors, whereas others are picked up cheaply at auction (most of the vehicles will also get a patriotic paint job before their brief time in the spotlight). Hrncir said it’s likely that more cars will show up during the days leading up to the event and the final tally is always a bit of a surprise. It’s not the kind of event with printed programs or any real semblance of order—it’s a very fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants experience, and that’s all part of the fun.
“The day just kind of takes care of itself,” Hrncir says. “We just focus on the ‘F’ words: freedom, family, food, and fun.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.