From the Springfield News-Sun website: The 14th annual Heritage of Flight Festival is a unique enough event that it drew visitors from as far as South Carolina.

The three-day downtown festival had 47 special visitors from the Clover High School Air Force Junior ROTC unit in Clover, S.C., about 30 minutes outside Charlotte. They visited Friday evening then watched the parade Saturday before departing for a day at Kings Island.

The festival will conclude today with a range of activities from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free.

The unit made an eight-hour trip Thursday to visit the National Museum of the United States Air Force as a “curriculum in action” field trip and was looking for other things to do. Heritage of Flight, with its vintage aircraft that participate in its parade, popped up.

“We usually take trips to places like Washington, D.C. or Cape Canaveral but this is something different,” said student Ceasar Kanobdee.

Fellow cadet, Miranda Roelker jumped onstage to dance to the music of classic rock band The Fleez.

ROTC leader Maj. Brian Batson was impressed by the friendly family feel of the event and the reception they enjoyed.

“We’ve been treated like VIPs,” he said. The group gave a loud “thank you, New Carlisle” before departing.

The annual parade late Saturday morning began with a parachute jump by Team Fastrax above Main Street. There were 21 vintage aircraft pulled by classic tractors that just about took up the width of the parade route’s streets.

Read the full article here.