The USS Midway Museum is turning 81, and it is throwing a party to prove it. On Saturday, Sept. 26, the USS Midway will host its 81st birthday celebration alongside its fifth annual multicultural fair, with free admission, live music, traditional dances, history programming and birthday cake for anyone who shows up.
According to the USS Midway Museum on Facebook, the combined celebration and fair runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the ship, which remained in Bremerton after decommissioning and opened as a museum in 2004. The fair will feature food from several countries, giving visitors a chance to sample global flavors between exploring the Hangar Deck and catching the day's programming.
A Free Day of Music, Dance and History on the Hangar Deck
Beyond the cake and the food, the day is built around cultural performance. The museum's announcement describes live music, traditional dances and history programming woven throughout the celebration, giving the fifth annual multicultural fair a distinct identity from a standard birthday bash. The celebration is open to the public.
Separately, the museum notes a major national milestone: America is celebrating its 250th birthday. America's 250th anniversary of independence falls on July 4, while the Midway event is scheduled for Sept. 26; the two occasions do not fall on the same date.
Admission Times Differ Between Event Listing and Museum Site
Would-be visitors should note a discrepancy in the fine print. The event listing shared via Facebook states last admission for Saturday's celebration is 2 p.m., while the museum's general website, midway.org, lists last admission at 4 p.m. as part of its standard daily hours. That same site notes the USS Midway Museum is normally open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., so visitors planning their trip around the birthday festivities may want to confirm which cutoff applies before heading to the pier.
The ship itself carries plenty of history to justify a history-programming lineup. Per midway.org, the USS Midway was commissioned in 1945 as the largest ship in the world at the time, a title that helped cement its place as one of the most recognizable vessels in American naval history before it became the floating museum San Diego visitors know today.
Whatever the exact closing hour turns out to be, the party itself is free and open to the public for its full stretch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, giving locals and visitors alike a low-cost way to spend a September afternoon exploring the Hangar Deck, sampling international dishes, and marking 81 years of the Midway's story.
