Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex kicks off its Holidays in Space

Florida Today

On the 12th day before Christmas, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex kicked off its "Holidays in Space" to celebrate the end of this year and the past, present and future of human space exploration.

Included with daily admission, which is $57 for adults and $47 for children, the event starts every day at 5 p.m. beginning Dec. 13 and lasts through the 31st.

Adeline Carton and Justine Tonnerre, who are both from France and now live in Melbourne, came with their children to enjoy the festivities.

Marc Iten of Clearwater does rabbit ears over an astronaut at the space walk cut out while his mom takes a photo. Friday night was the kick off for the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Holidays in Space, a 1960s retro holiday bash with 10,000 sparkling lights, period music and decor.

"I hadn't known about this but (Justine) told me about it and since we're annual pass holders, we thought it would be great to enjoy the lights and the food and it's great for the kids to enjoy," Carton said.

Justine Tonnerre and Adeline Carlton pose in a Space Station cutout with their children in front of them. Friday night was the kick off for the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Holidays in Space, a 1960s retro holiday bash with 10,000 sparkling lights, period music and decor.

With dazzling LED lights illuminating the palm trees near the Space Shuttle Atlantis facility and with snowflake projections on the ground, this year's event includes a multimedia short film that highlights past NASA missions during the holidays.

While several people watched the film that plays throughout the night, others stood in line near a giant inflatable snowglobe to pose for pictures while children decorated Christmas ornaments and others ate holiday-themed desserts like red velvet cupcakes and eggnog cheesecake bites.

Tonnerre's children, Adam, 9, and Agatha, 6, decorated their ornaments with a space shuttle but while Adam wants to go to space, Agatha made it very clear she does not plan on hitching a ride to exit Earth's atmosphere anytime soon.

"I like the space program, but I don't want to fly in space," she said as she was running around to take pictures near several huge photo cutouts that were surrounding the area.

"This year's Holiday in Space is fun, interactive and celebrates NASA's phenomenal history of their past, present and future on this great year of the Apollo 50th anniversary," said Therrin Protze, chief operating officer for the visitor complex.

Contact Jaramillo at 321-242-3668 or antoniaj@floridatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter at @AntoniaJ_11.