Tens of thousands of hams are celebrating a successful 2025 ARRL Field Day! The largest annual amateur radio event is also one of the most beloved, as shown by countless social media posts. Activity was high, with 1536 sites in the ARRL Field Day Site Locator, and that doesn’t even count home stations, portable operations, or other participants.

“There’s a reason that hams look forward to ARRL Field Day,” said ARRL Public Relations and Outreach Manager Sierra Harrop, W5DX. “It is easy to see how much fun people have during the event. Across the country, people come together in town squares, public parks, green spaces, and other locations – all to celebrate the joy of amateur radio and to share it with others,” she said.

PHOTOS: See 2025 ARRL Field Day from around social media

On the town green in West Brookfield, Massachusetts, between Springfield and Worcester, the Quaboag Valley Amateur Radio Club held its activation front and center in the postcard town. There was a steady line of onlookers visiting the setup that stretched out for several hundred yards. Many of them sat down to try their hand at the GOTA (Get On the Air) station. Nestled across from an antique church with a white steeple, and on green grass that surrounds a fountain, the hams brought a steady call of “CQ Field Day” to the quiet hamlet.

Aboard the International Space Station, Astronaut Jonny Kim, KJ5HKP, was active. Social media and YouTube show several clips of hams talking with Kim. James Walker, KC1UYZ, shared a video of his contact with Kim to Instagram and other platforms. “KC1UYZ, welcome to the International Space Station,” said Kim. A quick rest of the contact was followed by enthusiastic whoops from Walker, who was elated to have talked with an orbiting astronaut.

W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station at ARRL Headquarters in Newington, Connecticut, was active for the event. The station’s three operating studios were configured as a 6F-class station. On Saturday afternoon, and well into the overnight, ARRL Education and Learning Support Specialist Max Freedman, N4ML, was operating alongside Audrey McElroy, KM4BUN. “It is always great to help people get W1AW in their logs,” he said. Freedman is an experienced contester, but this was his first operating event at the historic station. “It is such an honor to operate as W1AW,” he said.

McElroy was honored as the Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, Memorial Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year in 2022. She’s in Connecticut for an internship in support of her electrical engineering degree – a career that her ham radio background has inspired.

ARRL Contest Program Manager Paul Bourque, N1SFE, reports nearly 2500 entries have already been received via the online entry form at field-day.arrl.org/fdentry.php. “We are encouraged by the surge in early submissions, but there’s still time to get entries in,” he said. Bourque noted that Field Day participants should check that all the required supporting documentation related to their entries has been received by checking the Entries Received web page at field-day.arrl.org/fdentriesrcvd.php.

If the status of your entry is listed as Pending Documents, one or more of the required documents still needs to be submitted to complete your entry. Entrants may use the link provided in the confirmation email they received to add additional documents or to modify their entries. Field Day entries must be received by Tuesday, July 29, 2025.

Complete information about ARRL Field Day is available at www.arrl.org/FieldDay