White airplanes flew far and high Saturday afternoon, speeding past bustling shoppers as part of 88.1 The Light's Ready to Fly Paper Airplane Contest.
The contest, part of a promotion for Christian pop band FFH's Ready to Fly tour, took place at Meridian Mall in Okemos.
Participants of all ages were invited to make and fly a paper airplane to compete for tickets to the FFH concert and an ice cream sundae party with the artists.
"Our son loves to make paper airplanes," said Trish Payne of her son Jordan. "He was really excited to come here and have the chance to win tickets to the concert and sundae party."
Holt residents Payne, her husband Dan and their two children, Jordan and Brooklyn, attend Trinity Church in Lansing, where the concert will take place at 7 p.m. on Sunday.
"They love it," Dan Payne said. "Jordan's been making paper airplanes since I can remember."
While the contest prizes were in the back of his mind, Jordan remained focused on his white paper creation.
"I make planes for my friends at church - it's really fun," Jordan said as he sat patiently crafting his plane.
Children weren't the only ones competing for the prize. Webberville High School student Naomi Thompson,17, also embarked on the challenge.
"It's a very creative event," Thompson said. "I'm no good at paper airplanes, but it's worth a try because I'd love to see the concert."
FFH's Ready to Fly tour also features Christian group Big Daddy Weave and artist Warren Barfield.
"I love FFH because they're doing it all for God," Thompson said. "I just think that's really great."
Cindy Render, administration assistant at The Light, said the event and the concert are bound to be a good time.
"We like to try to find an event that's consistent with the name of the tour or band," Render said. "Since it's the Ready to Fly tour, we decided to have a flight contest with paper airplanes."
Participants could enter one plane for free. Additional pieces of paper were available for $1 each.
The 12 winners from Saturday's contest each received a pair of tickets to the concert and sundae party as well as CDs from each of the featured artists.
On the day of the concert, the winners will participate in a final fly-off contest. The person with the farthest flying plane will win a Radio Flyer Wagon filled with movies, CDs, books and other goodies from The Light.
