THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 8, 1994 TAG: 9412080464
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DeGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KILL DEVIL HILLS LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
Although it's still nine years away, the centennial celebration of the world's first powered flight is already being planned by Outer Banks aviation enthusiasts.
The ``Wright Brothers Anniversary Ball'' next week is designed to become an annual event and help finance the worldwide anniversary of 100 years of flight.
A formal affair, the $100-a-person ball is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 17 - the 91st anniversary of the Wright brothers' original powered flight.
Dinner, dancing and a written-bid auction will be held at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills - less than 100 yards from the site of the historic first flight.
If the ball takes off, organizers said it will become an annual event.
``We've been working on our 100th year of aviation celebration and we realized we'd need some money to pay for all these projects,'' said Al Jones, executive director of the First Flight Society which plans annual events on the anniversary of the Wright brothers' achievement.
``We decided to hold a ball to raise funds for the commemorative celebration. The 100th anniversary is still nine years away, we know, but we need to begin gearing up for it now,'' Jones said. ``The money we raise will go toward educational programs, new exhibits for the museum, and, hopefully, an entirely new visitors' center which could be constructed by 2003.''
Although the National Park Service owns and runs the Wright Brothers National Memorial and its accompanying visitors' center, monument and museum, federal funds do not provide enough income to stage anniversary events.
Most of the activities surrounding Orville and Wilbur Wright's first flight are organized and funded by the First Flight Society - a non-profit group which has been financing the annual gatherings for more than 60 years.
``There is no federal money for construction projects out here,'' said National Park Service Supervisor Warren Wrenn, who oversees the Wright Brothers National Memorial. ``Any money for a new building will have to come from state, county or private pockets. The ball will be a fun way to raise money for a very worthy effort.
``It will not be a stuffed shirt affair,'' Wrenn said. ``It's a contribution to the future.''
Before the 100th anniversary of flight celebration, Jones said his group hopes to hire craftspeople to build replicas of all the Wright brothers' planes and gliders - more than 20 different models in all. The new aircrafts would need an expanded hangar. The 34-year-old museum simply isn't big enough to house them all.
``We'd also like to update some of our exhibits here, which are as old as this building,'' National Park Service historian Darrell Collins said. ``Personally, I hope we can get some high-tech displays and inter-active computer programs in here soon. There's a lot to be done before 2003.''
The ball will begin with a reception and heavy hors d'oeuvres in the Wright Brothers National Memorial lobby. Dinner, catered by Kelly's Restaurant, will follow in the flight room. Tables will be covered with linen and silver - and set up around the life-size model airplane.
``We planned the menu around what the Wright brothers liked to eat,'' Jones said. ``We're having salmon, beef tenderloin, oysters, scallops, shrimp and, for dessert, angel food cake with fig sauce. That was one of Wilbur's favorite sweets.''
For entertainment, the ``Society of Five'' band from Norfolk will play oldies tunes near an improvised dance floor. World War II USO entertainer Jean Jordan will perform a comedy sketch. At evening's end, a silent auction will help raise additional money for future aviation celebration projects.
``We have wines from North Carolina and Virginia wineries, caviar from Chicago, and the last sheet of air mail stamps - which was produced in 1978 - to auction off,'' Jones said.
``We've been working on this now for more than three months. But in 2003, we expect to have 100,000 people here for the anniversary celebration. We've got to be ready for them all.''
Besides local first flight fans, Jones has sent more than 1,200 gala invitations to aviation experts around the world. The event is open to the first 200 people who purchase $100 tickets. At least $60 of that investment will go into the centennial of flight celebration fund.
``So far, we've gotten about 55 responses from places as far away as California,'' Jones said. ``We have $500 corporate sponsorships from General Motors, the Air Force Association and other groups. Representatives from Dayton, Ohio, the state's 100th year of flight committee and our local organization also will attend.''
A former ambassador to the Pacific islands, a retired admiral who formerly led the Federal Aviation Administration, and the chief executive officer of U.S. Air are among the more prominent people who have purchased tickets to the ball. by CNB