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Yvette Hernandez prepares fish tacos at the NAF Food Fest on Friday afternoon in Seeley. (STEVEN ESPERANZA PHOTO / March 15, 2013) |
NAVAL AIR FACILITY EL CENTRO — Crowds lined up to sample local food and meet some not-so-local dignitaries at the annual Food Fest held in advance of today’s air show here.
Hundreds drifted through the hangar that housed the food vendors Friday evening, while still more listened to music, played on inflatables and talked outside the structure.
Local restaurants were on display, along with a number of other groups that had booths in the hangar. While people sampled a number of different dishes, the big draw for some was outside the hangar.
The event offered a chance for the community to meet and greet the U.S. Navy’s flight demonstration team, the Blue Angels.
A cheer rose from the crowd as Cmdr. Thomas Frosch, commanding officer of the Blue Angels, presented his 2013 team. He took the time to thank the community, base and his own personnel, both enlisted and officers.
“El Centro is our home away from home,” he said to the crowd. “There is a reason we come here to train. The training we do here over 2 1/2 months forms the foundation for our air show season.”
For a number of people, the Blue Angels were a highlight of the event.
Arlyn Duval of El Centro brought her grandson 5-year-old Sean to see what the event was about. While the crowd wasn’t as big as it used to be, it was still exciting to get to meet the pilots, and it’s a good way for different restaurants to show what they do, she said. The two tried a number of things, from ice cream sundaes to steak.
Sean, though, took the time to play with his new toy plane and get his photo taken with some of the pilots.
The access that people get to the pilots is something you don’t see in other places, said Norma Owens, a Renton, Wash., resident. She has seen the Blue Angels perform in Seattle, but you can’t get as close as you can get here.
“I love the event,” she said. “It’s our second time here, and it’s very special. Getting up close to the men who you admire is great.”
Christian Soria, 13, of El Centro was excited to get to meet the pilots. He said he wants to be a Blue Angels pilot when he grows up, “because I would like to fly on a jet, an F/A-18 Hornet.”
He plans to go to today’s air show, ready at the gate when it opens at 8 a.m.
Digital Media News Editor Elizabeth Varin can be reached at evarin@ivpressonline.com or 760-337-3441.
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