Planes, Pilots, and Hospitality

Everglades City’s annual Seafood Festival took place February 13-15, and as usual, the town became overwhelmed with traffic except for its Airpark, due in part to a coordinated effort between Collier County Airport Authority personnel and The Friends of the Everglades Airpark.

Spencer Brillon, who manages both the Immokalee and Everglades Airport, was assisted by Lewis and bought a four-seater gator on Saturday morning. Spencer and Lewis did a great job managing the “flight line.” They carefully parked the planes (38) along the taxiway. As the planes stretched the length of the runway, they gave pilots/guests rides to and from their planes.

Once the pilots were brought to the Terminal Building, the Friends welcomed them and offered free popcorn and ice water. Pilots were asked to sign in and were given rides to the Seafood Festival and back to the Airpark. Several pilots and passengers camped under their planes. Some mentioned they have been doing that for years. All agreed they enjoy flying to the Everglades Airpark. At least 50 planes came to the Everglades Airpark from Friday to Sunday. Most planes came on Saturday. Many came from the East Coast airports, such as Miami Executive, Pompano, and Fort Lauderdale. A few Canadian planes came from the Sarasota Airport. Some came from Punta Gorda, Arcadia, and as far away as Tampa. Several people remarked about the importance of saving our airport here in this beautiful community.