Suwanee 'Chutes' and Scores

"It came out of the sky, landed just a little south of Moline/Jody fell out of his tractor, couldn't believe what he seen/laid on the ground and shook, fearing for his life/then he ran all the way to town, screaming "It came out of the sky."

--Creedence Clearwater Revival, "It Came Out Of The Sky,"  1969.

Hollis Collins dropped in on a few hundred folks in Suwanee last week, the way he always does -- from 7,000 feet.

Collins, Eddie Schimmer and Jarad Davies are members of the Silver Wings, an exhibition parachute team based at Fort Benning, Ga., near Columbus. They brought their act to Suwanee on Friday as part of a Memorial Day weekend event.

The trio jumped from their Cessna aircraft shortly after 7 p.m., colorful smoke trailing them for visibility. Then they directed their canopies toward the landing area in the rear of Town Center Park. The landing was smooth.

"My favorite demos are ones with kids and stadiums," Collins said after gathering his equipment. "The kids enjoy it; the adults forget after about five seconds."

One adult who did not forget was Sharon Ferrer, a regular vendor at Suwanee's Farmers Market who attended Friday's event.

"So patriotic," Ferrer said Saturday.

The group has performed at Atlanta Braves games, and was to perform in Pennsylvania over the weekend.

Also part of the Town Center event Friday was the Gwinnett Community Band, which performed patriotic and big-band tunes.