The Labor Day weekend is looking up for the Greenville Mid-Delta Regional Airport as it readies for its second Aviation Day event beginning 6 p.m. Friday and running through 1 p.m. Saturday.
Friday’s Aviation Day festivities will kick off with live music rendered by The Delta String Band and tethered balloon rides throughout the evening.
From 7-8 p.m., a hot air balloon glow presented by Pafford EMS and Pafford Air One will conclude the first day of the event.
Saturday’s event lineup will commence with a balloon mass ascension scheduled for 7 a.m. and gates will open to attendees at 8 a.m. for the main event.
An airplane fly-in will follow until 1 p.m. and there will be aircrafts on static display for attendees to view.
In addition, Young Eagle Airplane Rides will be given from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
All attractions are at no cost to event goers.
Greenville Mid-Delta Regional Airport’s inaugural Aviation Day was a one day event held in September 2019 and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a 2020 Aviation Day did not happen.
Airport director Sam Washington said that putting together Aviation Day is his way of trying to give back to the next generation. He wants to be able to tell them, “This is something you can do — it’s a good career and there are a lot of good paying jobs in the field.”
According to Washington, Aviation Day is being organized as a two-day event this year so that facets of the Balloon Fest, which used to be held in Greenville, can be incorporated.
“In order to try and make sure that we would have ample time to do that, we decided to go ahead and do an evening so we can incorporate the balloon glow,” Washington explained. “That’s why we decided to do two days and if people came out Friday evening, hopefully that will boost their appetite to want to come back Saturday.”
There will be five balloons total including the tethered balloon, but whether or not the other four balloons launch from the airport field or fly into the field from elsewhere depends on the weather pattern.
“We will have four T-6’s which are old military trainers, actually Tuskegee airmen planes,” Washington highlighted. “Four of them will be coming up from Vicksburg and they’re part of the Southern Heritage Aviation Foundation. They’ll be doing some formation flying and they’ll be doing that a couple of times during the day.”
Conducting the airplane fly-in from 9 to 11 a.m. will be members of Washington’s organization, Black Pilots of America, who will offer free rides to children.
Washington is optimistic about this weekend’s Aviation Day event and is looking forward to seeing attendees, especially the younger ones, partake in the festivities.
With that, he is hoping to have at least 600 to 700 people attend and naturally, if more than that come out, he and his team will be extremely happy.
He noted this weekend’s favorable forecast in that Greenville is predicted to have clear skies and temperatures mainly in the low 90s.
“Hopefully humidity levels won’t be quite as high but right now the weather is looking good,” Washington said, adding, “We think the ground will be in good shape and we’re looking forward to it.”
The event is free to the public and food trucks and coolers are welcome.
Event sponsors include Pafford Air One, Visit Mississippi, Pafford EMS, Delta Group and Oakes Auto Group.
For more information the Greenville Mid-Delta Airport can be reached at 662-334-3121.
