The Secret City Festival has previously included one of the largest World War II re-enactments in the South, pictured above, but organizers changed this year to a “Salute to Soldiers” program. (Archive photo)

It had been one of the largest World War II re-enactments in the South, featuring close to 200 people in a dozen 1940s-era vehicles at the annual Secret City Festival.

An estimated 5,000 to 7,000 spectators watched the two mock battles at Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge each year as British and American forces fought and defeated German military personnel.

But this year, the two-day festival did not include the re-enactments. They were replaced by a new “Salute to Soldiers” program that featured World War II living history activities and demonstrations. That program included period military camps, vehicles, equipment, and demonstrations, as well as educational displays. [Read more…]