New Jersey’s Lower Township. The annual Wings & Things Arts & Crafts Festival, which will include Hot Rods, will take place at the Hangar on Saturday, June 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Naval Air Station Wildwood (NASW) Aviation Museum.
Visitors can enjoy a full day of family-friendly events that blend aviation history with local art, live entertainment, and vintage cars in the museum’s iconic World War II hangar at Cape May Airport.
Live music by Radio Revolution, interactive craft projects for kids and adults, workshops on model airplanes, face painting, military vehicles, a 9/11 Fire Truck, RC car racing, race car simulators, and war gaming organized by the South Jersey Gamers Association are all part of the festival. A range of animals from the animal rescue group Funny Farm Rescue will also be present.
More than 26 historic aircraft, including NASW’s newest addition, an AV-8B+ Harrier II on loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum, are available for aviation enthusiasts to view. Jeff Chorman will fly his T-28 Trojan in a special fly-in appearance, weather permitting.
Crowds are drawn to food and crafts.
At Hot Rods at the Hangar, auto aficionados will be able to see almost 100 current and historic cars. Local food vendors such as Hit the Road Jack, El Pueblo Taqueria, and Poppin’ Bob are available for guests to taste, while the Beer & Wine Garden provides drinks for adults.
Local artists and merchants will display handcrafted items including jewelry, artwork, photography, and ceramics within the hangar. A unique exhibit of student artwork from the Soarin High Art Contest, which showcases K-12 students’ imaginative creations based on the topic “Things That Fly,” is also part of the event.
In honor of the 80th anniversary of D-Day, this year’s event presents a brand-new touring installation called The Longest Yarn. Volunteers from all around the world knitted and crocheted the 265-foot wool tapestry, which portrayed the events of June 6, 1944, and the liberation of France by the Allies. It was made with the help of historians and made its debut in 2024 in Carentan, France. It will be on display at NASW until Labor Day.
Encouraging the history of aviation
The museum’s permanent exhibits, which remember the 42 aviators who died during training operations between 1943 and 1945 and showcase the history of Naval Air Station Wildwood, are accessible to festival attendees.
The Cape May County Division of Culture and Heritage, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts all provide financial support for the Wings & Things Arts & Crafts Festival.
At Cape May Airport, Hangar #1, 500 Forrestal Road, is home to the Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum. Daily hours for the museum are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Inside NASW’s iconic WWII hangar, the Wings & Things festival promises a full day of vintage aircraft, vintage autos, and local crafts.
