12,000-plus crowd makes for huge success

The past weekend, with balmy temperatures and clear skies, proved to be the perfect setup for the Museum of Aviation Foundation’s third annual Winter Wonderfest.

Jenny Maas, chief financial officer of the foundation, said more than 12,000 attended the two-day event, triple the number who attended last year.

“We had a limited budget for marketing, and so social media was responsible for the attendance skyrocketing, plus the beautiful weather,” Maas said. “I believe it attracted so many people this time because it was unique to this area; we don’t see snow and ice here all that often.”

Attendance was more than expected, she continued. “It is hard to predict the weather when you’re planning an event like this, but the weather was perfect over the weekend, 65 degrees.”

A tractor-trailer was packed full of snow and ice and blown into tubing setups – two 65-feet long and one shorter one for small children.

“Since it’s packed it melts at a much slower rate, even with the warm temperatures,” Maas said.

The slides were perhaps the most popular attractions, she said.

Outdoor and indoor activities included a stunt jumpz, quad bungee, trackless train, rock wall climbing, bounce houses, a snow ride around the museum, a craft show, food truck vendor festival and “Elsa” from the movie “Frozen.”

The food trucks, 13 of them, drew a lot of attention and traffic, she said.

“We’re planning immediately for next year and are looking to have 30 food trucks this time,” Maas said. “We feel that all who attended it this time will want to come back next year.”

This year’s event was a success, she said.

“The event made a net profit of about $42,000,” she said. “The funds went to support general operations of the Museum of Aviation and the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame.”

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