The SUN ‘n FUN Home Edition 2020 has gone live, delivering the SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo in a new venue — cyberspace.
The SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo has faced its share of challenges over its 46-year history overcoming snow, a tornado, flooding rain, sequestration, and extreme heat. Now having to cancel its 2020 event due to coronavirus, the team at SUN ‘n FUN was not going to be deterred from their mission to “engage, educate and accelerate the next generation of aerospace professionals.”
“We didn’t sit back and give up,” said John “Lites” Leenhouts, president and CEO of the Aerospace Center for Excellence. “We got to work on alternative ways to bring the excitement and camaraderie that our SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo is known for to people around the world. Our partners, sponsors, exhibitors, and the whole airshow community are working alongside us, which is why SUN ‘n FUN Home Edition 2020 will be a great experience.”
“Our theme for this year was Experience Flight in 2020 and little did we know that it would be a virtual experience!” he added.
SUN ‘n FUN hopes the concept will keep audiences engaged until the fly-in can return in 2021. Proceeds from sales and donations will benefit SUN ‘n FUN’s Aerospace Center for Excellence. Without the annual event, this non-profit 501c3 organization has lost more than 80% of its annual funding, placing many of its scholarships and STEM education programs on hold, according to SUN ‘n FUN officials.
“The SUN ‘n FUN Home Edition 2020 is all the parts of the annual Aerospace Expo that attendees have come to know and love and a whole lot more,” said Greg Gibson, chief marketing officer and airshow director. “The SUN ‘n FUN Home Edition is an overall experience that will be accessed via a web portal at FlySNF.org right from our home page. Once you click into the Home Edition, you’ll have access to tons of online content, including some things that you have never seen before!”
The SUN ‘n FUN Home Edition is more than just a website, it’s a whole new SUN ‘n FUN experience, officials say.
Features include a series of online interviews with performers and show attractions over the next several weeks, leading up to a four-hour live online airshow May 30, 2020.
The website has hundreds of hours of video, photo galleries, and an interactive virtual expo where patrons can visit exhibitors and even buy from a selection of online specials those exhibitors will be promoting on their websites linked from the virtual SUN ‘n FUN. There is even 2020 collectible SUN ‘n FUN merchandise from “The Greatest Airshow That Never Happened.” Every area of SUN ‘n FUN is represented, including Warbirds, Homebuilt, Aerobatic HQ, Vintage, and Paradise City, officials noted.
Content for this new virtual experience has started to roll out and is available not only on SUN ‘n FUN’s website, but also its Facebook and Instagram pages. Airshow performer Micheal Goulian is the first scheduled guest to take part in a live online interview as part of Performer Profiles. Scheduled for May 1, 2020, at 6 p.m. EST, Michael will share how he became one of North America’s most decorated aerobatic pilots and recognized aviation professionals, SUN ‘n FUN officials said.