'We're going to celebrate': Sun 'n Fun marks 50th year with more comforts and things to do

Sun 'n Fun is gearing up to celebrate its 50th anniversary next week with a renewed focus on the guest experience, hoping to keep visitors entertained day and night.

The 2024 Sun 'n Sun Fun Aerospace Expo will be held from Tuesday through April 14 at Lakeland Linder International Airport. After half a century, the event now serves as an annual fundraiser for the Aerospace Center for Excellence, more commonly called ACE. The nonprofit organization provides STEM education in sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics related to the aviation industry.

The weeklong event is expected to bring thousands of visitors to Lakeland.

Gene Conrad, ACE's CEO and president, said this year's schedule has a record-breaking 560 exhibitors and more nightly entertainment than ever before.

"Obviously it's our 50th anniversary, so we're going to celebrate," he said. "We're going to celebrate all of the prior years, all our volunteers and those who came before us to bring us to 50 years."

Sun 'n Fun has a list of more than 20,000 volunteers over the years who have given their time to make the event work. Conrad told city commissioners that volunteers are essential to getting the event up and off the ground, given his current staff is about 40 individuals. There are more than 2,900 who will be assisting at this year's event.

"They are the heartbeat of our organization," Conrad said.

First opening night concert, more fireworks

For the first-time, Sun 'n Fun will host an opening Tuesday night concert on the ever-popular Warbirds Ramp featuring Dylan Scott and special guest Sara Evans. The concert will kick off at 6 p.m. with a promise of a special opening.

"We have never done and produced something of this scale in the past," Conrad said. "It's the right time to do it."

Daily tickets after 5 p.m. will be available at the gate for individuals who only seek to attend the concert at $45 for adults, $20 for youth.

It's one of many events that promises to pack in more nightly entertainment after dark.

"One of our goals is for people to be with us throughout the day, as we provide and offer things for families to do both day and night," Conrad said.

Also a first: The Wednesday night evening air show will conclude with fireworks — something that's previously been limited to Saturday night. Conrad said this will make the two night air shows more similar and offer additional options for people to come out.

On Tuesday, Thursday and Friday nights, attendees have the opportunity to watch the Sunset Aerial Circus. Conrad said he described this show as a bit of a throwback featuring some of the STOL invitational pilots, or short takeoff and landing, along with paramotors with parachutes and some individuals demonstrating half-scale remote control models of popular aircraft. The popular Balloon Glow with tethered hot air balloons will occur on the same nights.

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will arrive on Thursday afternoon with a practice routine followed by performances in Friday and Saturday's airshows. A ever-popular crowd pleaser, the Thunderbirds always perform toward the end of the afternoon airshows, so keep your eyes on the sky between 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Future 'n Flight for youth and future aspirations

Stepping inside the main gate, previous attendees may notice the former South East Exhibits area has been reimagined into a new area called the Future 'n Flight Plaza. This section will pull together youth activities, focus on aviation careers and future innovation.

The Future 'n Flight Plaza will host the Junior ACES program for children ages 7 to 17 with exhibitors and hands-on workshops. Aviation enthusiasts of all ages are encouraged to check out the Flight Sim Experience where 12 different companies will offer flight simulation of different types of aircraft, so anyone can try their hand at being a pilot. It will also be home to the Sun 'n Fun Career Fair, running all six days of the expo this year, with companies ranging from Cirrus Aircraft to Frontier and Southwest Airlines looking for potential hires.

Inside the Future 'n Flight Plaza will also be a new innovation showcase, Conrad said. The area will feature 14 exhibits from high-tech companies demonstrating things such as vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, drones and other leading-edge developments.

Guest comfort a high priority

Conrad has also built a few areas into the Future 'n Flight plaza that show a renewed focus on making sure visitors can enjoy the expo.

"We are really into improving the guest experience," he said. "We've listened to the feedback: the good, the bad and the ugly."

There will be a brand new air-conditioned Family Oasis tent in the Future 'n Flight- Plaza. Conrad, who himself is the parent of a 4-year-old, said he recognized being out on the airfield can make for a long, hot day and hopes the area will provide a place for families with young children to take a short break. It will also provide some activities for those with very young children.

At night, this area will transformed by Carilly into a Kids Club offering babysitting services nightly so children can enjoy nighttime activities while parents enjoy the expo from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Each day has its own unique theme, with tickets costing $40 per child for dinner, snacks and activities. Reserve spots online and see a full lineup of activities at carilly.com/events.

Nearby is the International Oasis, a similar area where international guests can kick back and relax for a while. Conrad said he expects the expo's number of international attendees to grow this year for the first time post-COVID.

The Island, which debuted in 2023, will make a return. The section sponsored by the Island of the Bahamas, is located on the east side of the airplane camping area. It will serve as an anchor along with Fresco's Southern Kitchen and Bar of Lakeland, which will run a full restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Island Store will sell basic convenience items, Conrad said, flipflops, sunscreen and other necessities — and more sleeping bags.

"We didn't know what we didn't know last year," he said. "We brought probably four or five sleeping bags, and we had to probably replenish those four or five times."

For daily visitors, Conrad said the airport's WIFI system has been upgraded to provide better coverage this year. Sun 'n Fun also had roughly 80 benches built and installed to provide attendees with more seating options, and there will be some additional shade tents put up to offer respite from the sun. Those who can get lost looking at a map should keep an eye out for new wayfinding signage, Conrad said, attempting to help guests navigate the vast expo site. There are flower boxes with signage on top that will identify all the tram stops and help direct people where to go.

Guests can feel confident packing a water bottle this year, as there will be new water stations erected across the expo grounds.

"That was a big complaint," Conrad said. "Post-COVID, people really want to be able to fill up bottles with water rather than using a fountain."

For more information on this year's Sun 'n Fun expo including a map of the event grounds and fully detailed schedule, visit flysnf.org.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on X @SaraWalshFl.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Sun 'n Fun expo to celebrate 50 years, showing it can improve with age