The veterans service organization with 2.4 million members and 14,000 posts across the globe, expects more than 9,500 people to attend the event, its 98th. American Legion officials expect it will bring $15 million into the Cincinnati-area economy.
The Indianapolis-based American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 to serve to veterans, service members and communities.
The Legion also considered Los Angeles, Detroit and Columbus.
Historic Ohio amusement park reopens after floods
CINCINNATI — One of the oldest amusement parks in the U.S. is opening its 125th season in Ohio following floods that inadvertently turned it into a water park during the winter and spring.
Coney Island sits alongside the Ohio River east of downtown Cincinnati. The river flooded in March and April, forcing the park to move ride motors and other equipment out of the water’s way and cancelling several performances of a Cirque du Soleil acrobatics show under a big-top tent set up in the Coney Island parking lot.
The park will celebrate its big anniversary throughout the new season that starts Saturday. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports it was originally called “Ohio Grove, the Coney Island of the West” when the first guests arrived in 1886.
— Information from The Cincinnati Enquirer and The Associated Press