ESCANABA – A crowd started to gather at the poultry barn when the announcer at the U.P. State Fair mentioned that there would be a release of white doves.

Kenneth Wilkey with WW Lofts in Wilson says the kids chosen to hold the doves are excited and can’t wait to watch the birds fly away. They are told to hold the birds tightly.

“To hold it right, you hold it between your fingers at the feet and then your thumbs go across the back of its wings and its tail. That keeps its wing from being able to fly. As long as it can’t move its legs and flop its wings it can’t fly. They will just remain real calm,” Wilkey said.

When Wilkey gave to signal to release the doves, the crowd cheered. Sixty whites doves soared into the sky. Wilkey actually says he doesn’t know why a mass release initiates such a response.

“I think it’s just the excitement of seeing them all stay together. I don’t really know what it is. They just like it,” he said.

Wilkey releases the doves because he says he loves to see the reactions of the kids that let the doves go.