Andrews – Everyone is welcomed to spend Saturday celebrating veterans and Halloween.
The day begins with the Welcome Home Veterans parade at 9:30 a.m. downtown. The bulk of the parade will start at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7620 near Andrews Town Hall. It will proceed down Main Street, then cross U.S. 19/74 and continue to Western Carolina Regional Airport.
The parade will include floats, which will gather at First Baptist Church and start making their way down Main Street at 9:15 a.m. before meeting up with the rest of the participants. Local veterans will be honored as grand marshals, all lead by the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association.
Festivities will continue at the airport for the second annual Welcome Home Tribute to Veterans event. The opening program is expected to start at 11 a.m. There will be two flyovers – a U.S. Air Force flyover at noon, and a vintage aircraft flyover at 1 p.m. There will also be musical entertainment and demonstrations.
Vintage planes will be on display on the tarmac, where visitors can look at the planes and learn more about them.
Donations to support the presence of the vintage aircraft – organizers only have to pay for the fuel for the aircrafts – was going well, airport manager Gayland Trull said. They have secured funds to have five vintage planes, but still needed more funds to bring the bomber they wanted. The bomber’s fuel costs $3,800.
The day will also include a veterans stand-down resource fair, including flu shots for veterans from King’s Pharmacy, in the hanger beside the terminal. Food will be served, and there will be a chili cook-off.
Both state Rep. Kevin Corbin (R-Franklin) and congressional candidate Madison Cawthorn are expected to participate early in the event.
The event is free and provided by Ivie Funeral Home. It is covered by 24-hour event insurance. The event is rain or shine, but all plans are subject to change.
Several local veteran service organizations worked together with the airport and local leaders to plan the event with Ivie Funeral Home. Three area American Legion posts, two Marine Corps League detachments, the local Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association, Warriors Veteran Outreach, the local Disabled American Veterans chapter and the Andrews VFW post were all involved in the planning.
After the event at the airport, families are welcomed to return downtown for Trunk or Treat from 3:30-5:30 p.m. Main Street will be closed from the Andrews Public Library to town hall, and participants will either hand treats to children or place treats on a table for children to take.
Andrews Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jan Olson was happy she could coordinate with organizers, especially the VFW, to bring families to Andrews for the day. She said businesses will be open throughout the festivities.
“It means a lot to Andrews,” Olson said. “It’s going to be a fun day… We’re hoping people will take advantage of it and spend the day in Andrews.”
Anyone wishing to donate to the cost of fuel for the vintage aircraft may send donations to Western Carolina Aviation/Veterans, 5840 Airport Road, Andrews, NC 28901. Any funds not used this year will go toward bringing vintage planes to next year’s event.