The public is asked to make a donation to get the chance to put a poppy or star on the artworks.
The public is asked to make a donation to get the chance to put a poppy or star on the artworks.
Volunteers are raising money for the RSA, NZ Warbirds Association, and the Starship Foundation by flying a giant hand-crafted poppy and star around the country.
On Saturday, the Poppy Flight Project stopped in Tauranga on the second day of its four-week nationwide tour.
About 100 people were at the ClassicFlyers Museum at midday when the poppy and star arrived with a pilot in an Aeroprakt A32.
The poppy and star will be flown from the top of the country all the way to the bottom and everywhere in between over the next month.
At welcome events, like the one at the museum, members of the public are invited to make a donation to the flight and stick a poppy or star onto two large canvases.
Poppies and stars are hand-knitted by crafters nationwide, with Bayswater Village residents spending about an hour making each one.
Bayswater Village residents knitted Tauranga's poppy and stars.
More than 150 were created by the Bayswater Village residents, who had been busy working away over the past few months to finish them.
The flight was meant to take off last year, however, the Covid-19 lockdowns started only a couple of weeks before it was due to start, organiser Melanie Salisbury said.
"It's all about bringing the local community and schools together to raise funds and support those who fought for our freedom, as well as those families whose children are dealing with illness and challenges."
It was the first year the flight had taken place and was an idea Salisbury had been talking about for years.
An aviation tour planner and escort by trade, Salisbury was well connected in the industry and thought it was something good to do for the community.
However, although the flight was under way, there was still work to be done, Salisbury said.
The poppy and star artworks were flown into Tauranga from Whitianga on an Aeroprakt.
"We are in desperate need of those who can crochet or knit that could help create poppies or stars. Every little bit helps, there is no shortage of opportunities for involvement."
Taking off from Ardmore Airport on Friday before heading to Thames and then Whitianga, the plane flew into Tauranga on Saturday and left for Gisborne on Sunday.
The last flight will be Saturday, April 24, when the artworks head from Whangarei to Ardmore. There will be a memorial flight on Anzac Day too.
At the end of the journey, the artworks will be donated to charity, with the poppy going to the RSA and the star going to the Starship Foundation.
