Wright State marketing club to coordinate Wright Brothers Day during Festival of Flight

Wright State’s annual Wright Brothers Day celebration will take place concurrent with Festival of Flight on Oct. 5 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the Wright State Nutter Center rear parking lot.

The Wright State student marketing club will coordinate Wright Brothers Day this year in conjunction with the inaugural Festival of Flight, which takes place Saturday, Oct. 5, on the Wright State Nutter Center back parking lot.

The festival will run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. More information, including a schedule of activities, is available at FestivalOfFlight.org.

Wright Brothers Day is an official commemorative day in the state of Ohio that was put in place in 2011. It commemorates the anniversary of Wilbur Wright’s 39-minute flight around Huffman Prairie on Oct. 5, 1905. The flight demonstrated that the Wright brothers had advanced their design to the point of a practical airplane.

The American Marketing Association at Wright State has organized Wright Brothers Day for the past several years. The club has been recognized as an Exemplary Chapter at the American Marketing Association international collegiate conference for five of the past six years.

Kendall Goodrich, professor and chair of the Department of Marketing, says Wright Brothers Day celebrates the history of Wilbur and Orville Wright while also recognizing innovative research taking place on campus today.

“(The goal) is to celebrate the innovative spirit of the Wright brothers,” he said. “We also want to show some of the things that go on at the university and the local community that support the spirit of innovation.”

Nick Fleming, president of the marketing club and a senior marketing major, was named a member of the Festival of Flight marketing committee as the marketing coordinator. Although merging the Wright Brothers Day activities with the Festival of Flight has presented several challenges, Fleming said he is excited to see it unfold while also spreading the word about Wright State’s marketing club.

“Having the Festival of Flight this year is definitely different,” he said. “My main goal is to help the Festival of Flight succeed and be an enjoyable time for everyone, while also showing that we as a marketing club are a legit organization and capable of doing great things.”

The free Festival of Flight will feature fun aviation-related educational experiences and creative local innovations; flight-themed food and drinks; entertainment, including live bands; Wright State soccer, volleyball and softball teams in action; exhibition games with a military veteran softball team; a vintage baseball game; a dedicated area with fun activities for children; and a haunted trail.