Commentary: Get ready for a fun-filled weekend at Heritage of Flight Festival

Every year I cannot wait to see what will be added to the Heritage of Flight Festival in New Carlisle. Always on the first weekend of October, this crazy busy event kicks off the autumn festival season with off-the-scale creativity and boundless energy.

Get out your calendar and your red marker, and circle this coming Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Oct. 5, 6 and 7, and hold on tight. It’s time for Heritage of Flight in New Carlisle.

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It all started back around 2001 with a parade. J.T. Anderson came into my office in New Carlisle and declared that there was going to be a parade in a few days. Not just any parade, he told us, they were going to be pulling airplanes down the streets of New Carlisle with lawn mowers and antique tractors.

Really?

I knew they were serious when they took an airplane along the parade route in the middle of the night and cut away any limbs that were too close. The whole town seemed to catch the spirit of the parade. Even our daughter Liz, who was a lifeguard at the pool got involved. She sang the National Anthem and rode on the wing of an airplane, in the parade not in the air.

After a few years sweltering in the July heat the parade was wisely moved to October, and combined with a festival. It was expanded to three days. That was 14 years ago.

I wondered how that was going to work. After all, what could they do in quiet New Carlisle for three whole days?

Well, let me tell you.

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It all starts at 2 p.m. Friday with the opening of the Beer and Brat Hanger. This and the Garage Kings stage are basically the heart of it all. The hanger has a large screen for televising sports events all weekend.

That is right, football fans; you will not need to hurry home for kickoff. The games will be on here all weekend.

Close down your kitchens. There is no need to cook at home. In addition to all sorts of food vendors, Honey Creek Presbyterian is making its famous Chicken and Noodles on Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. and Saturday night too.

Friday evening from 4 to 10 p.m., New Carlisle hosts one of the largest classic car shows in the area. In the past more than 800 vintage cars have lined the length of Main Street, which is closed for the weekend. This is a sight to behold. Live entertainment by the FLEEZ make this event full of fun.

Saturday starts off with the Impact Bethel Pancake Breakfast at 7 a.m. followed by the start of the 5K race/walk at 8:15 a.m. Just before the parade begins at 11 a.m., the FASTRAX Parachute Team will be jumping out of perfectly good airplanes above Main Street. This is always exciting.

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The Flight Pageant Crowning Ceremony will follow the parade at the Garage Kings Stage at 12:30. At 1 p.m. Marshall Gorby will take the stage to once again try to get enough of us to set the world’s record Chicken Dance.

The second annual Motorcycle show begins at 3 p.m. Hundreds of motorcycles are expected including Vintage Iron Motorcycle Club of Dayton. There will be a salute to veterans and the military at 4:30 p.m.

And all day long there will be all sorts of activities, silent auction, caricature drawings, 50/50, wings eating contest, and rides along Main Street and, of course, the OSU game in the hanger.

Two new activities will start off Sunday’s schedule.

The “Mile of Food” food drive begins at 9 a.m. at the intersection of Main Street and Rt 571. Donated non-perishable food items will be placed end to end to hopefully reach the entrance of the Andy Barnhart Memorial Airport. Until 2 p.m. donating groups, clubs or troops, are invited to march, or parade, together to the end of the line to place their food in the queue. Individuals are also encouraged to add to the length of the food chain. I suggest long packages of spaghetti noodles.

Marshall Gorby is hoping that New Carlisle will someday break the two miles of food world record held by a town in Canada. Folks who cannot be here on Sunday may drop off food at the firehouse before hand. All the food will be donated to the Bethel Churches United Food Pantry.

The first Unicorn Challenge is at noon at the stage on Main Street. Participants will see who can balance a scoop of ice cream on the point of an upside down ice cream cone on their head. There were some chilly weekends in the past that this event might have gone on for hours but this year’s warmer weather should make this go quickly.

Jim Slanker Memorial Chair Races begin at 1 p.m. This event is visually entertaining since all chairs must be “upholstered, living room, straight or reclining chairs.” If you want to participate, check the rules on the website first.

The National Kiddie Pedal Tractor Pull begins at 2 p.m.

There are so many details and participant rules to share and so little space to write about them. Check out the very helpful website at heritageofflight.com. It has a map and schedule. The Facebook page at New Carlisle Heritage of Flight Festival is full of updates and last minute information.

Frankly I do not know how the organizers fit all this in three days. All I can say is wear comfortable shoes, arrive with an empty stomach, and be prepared to have a lot of fun this weekend.

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