Residents can have fun while raising money for a good cause May 12 at the annual fly in pancake breakfast at Poplar Bluff Municipal Airport.
Proceeds from the event will help fund scholarships distributed by Poplar Bluff Masonic Lodge 209, and will also help support the Poplar Bluff JROTC program.
Activities will be held from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., said organizer Dustin Ramsey of SEMO Aviation Services, which sponsors the event.
"We like to do this to get the community out and see our airport," said Ramsey, who has been there for more than a decade, first as a mechanic and then as a business owner.
Pancakes will be served for the first half of the day, at $5 per plate, with children 10 and under eating free. A food truck will open at 11 a.m., serving hamburgers, hotdogs and other items.
Hot air balloon, airplane and helicopter rides will be available until 3 p.m. Cost will be $10, $20 and $30 respectively, per person. Seating of three to five people will be available for plane rides, and up to three people for helicopter rides.
Skydives will be held at 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.
The event typically draws up to 1,500 people, but Ramsey believes strong interest this year could double that number. Normally held every year, the fly in had to be cancelled in 2017 after heavy rain throughout the region.
Masons will be cooking the pancakes and members of the JROTC will assist with the event, he said.
The Masons typically hand out two $500 scholarships every year, but hope to raise up to $6,000 from the proceeds of this event, said Ramsey, who is junior warden for the Masonic Lodge.
JROTC will also receive a portion of the proceeds from the event.
A safety seminar will be conducted at 10 a.m. by the Federal Aviation Administration for pilots. This helps pilots maintain skills and receive other information, said Ramsey.
For more information on the fly in, call 573-714-6385.