The Concert in the Sky was nominated in the USA Today 10Best Reader’s Choice Awards for 2026 and earned 5th place. Voting began April 13 and ended May 10. Votes were cast once per day from the start to the finish.
In 2024, the Atchison fireworks earned third in the nation, followed by a fourth-place finish in 2025.
Atchison's placement in the rankings trails displays in Addison, Texas, New York City, Detroit, Michigan, and the Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois.
The annual 28-minute Concert in the Sky draws an estimated 30,000 visitors each year to celebrate the July 24, 1897 birth of Amelia Earhart in Atchison. The show is produced by Stellar Fireworks, Inc., of Wichita.
The 2026 Amelia Earhart Festival is scheduled for the weekend of July 17 and 18, including the ticketed kickoff concert Friday night, July 17, featuring headliner Blackhawk, with Lorrie Morgan opening. The Concert in the Sky follows a full day of activities Saturday, July 18, and is scheduled to begin around 9:30 that night after the traditional aerobatics performance, with those events free to the public at Atchison Riverfront Park near the Amelia Earhart Bridge.
The Concert in the sky is choreographed to music, simulcast on KAIR 93.7 FM, allowing synchronized listening anywhere the fireworks can be viewed.
