By Bailey Noel

In their first ever visit to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, members of the Royal Air Force’s Red Arrows Demonstration Team support staff, known as the Circus, took part in a beloved Oshkosh tradition: writing postcards to their loved ones at home.

The free postcard program, started by local tourism agency Discover Oshkosh in 2021, invites AirVenture attendees to fill out a postcard to send to friends or loved ones for free at its concierge booth located at the base of the tower on the corner of Knapp Street and Waukau Avenue. Last year, the program sent out 2,500 postcards to all 50 states and 30 countries, according to Discover Oshkosh Marketing Coordinator Anna Murphy.

Members of the Circus were spotted Thursday afternoon in their vibrant royal blue flight suits writing to their family and friends.

Circus 9, Cpl. Damon Wilson, shared that he wrote a postcard to his wife and 4-year-old son. “I said, ‘Greetings from the largest air show in the world’ and that I miss them a lot. ‘I’m loving my time here, but I’ll be home soon,’” he said.

Air Specialist (Class 1) Lucinda McDermont wrote a postcard home to her grandfather. “I told him I miss him, I can’t wait to be home, I’m absolutely loving it. I told him I’m all the way in Wisconsin,” she shared, “and then a little family joke that ‘I can’t wait to see his gate,’ which is always fun because he always talks about his gate. We’re all the way from Wales, so it’s a long, long way from home.”

While the team performs at AirVenture during the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday air shows, these postcards will travel roughly 4,000 miles back to the team’s families across the United Kingdom, continuing to spread the reach of AirVenture globally.