Kids check out military aircraft at the Celebrate Freedom Festival.
 / Jarid Munsch
COLUMBIA (WACH) -- Despite times when the weather looked like it might spoil a patriotic afternoon, Mother Nature cooperated, and the Stars and Stripes flew.
Hundreds filled Finlay Park Saturday for the Celebrate Freedom Festival. The event included helicopter and military vehicle displays, live music, and kids even got to take part in their own mini basic training.
"You'd be walking through the park , and somebody would come up to me and say 'Thank you.', explains Vietnam veteran James Filiatreault. "When I got back from Vietnam in '69, that wasn't that way. So, it means a lot."
The event was organized by the Celebrate Freedom Foundation - a non-profit corporation dedicated to "promoting lasting patriotism and honoring our military".
WACH Fox was a sponsor of the event.