After a two year hiatus, The Gary Air Show came back to a huge crowd, with a turnout from all over Northwest Indiana coming together to see that latest in aerial acrobatics and high flying fun.
To see more photos from the event, click here!
Along with the aerial acts, many attendants could be found playing in the water and lounging on the beach while the planes soared overhead. Children were swimming and building sandcastles while adults had cookouts and pointed their binoculars and cameras at the sky. The warm, breezy weather and clear blue sky seemed to be a perfect highlight for the long awaited return of the airshow.
In addition to the beautiful beachfront and fast moving planes, visitors were also able to choose from a variety of food options from various restaurants and food vendors. Traditional festival foods such as funnel cake and slushies were in abundance as well as some more particular options from both Blue Chip Casino’s food truck and a variety of meat options from True BBQ and Whiskey.
Jim Corbeille, a 43 year resident of Miller Beach is delighted that the Air Show is back and hopes that the new continuation of the show can bring joy to a new audience as much as it has brought him over the years.
“I live right up over the hill right over the sand dune. It’s great to see the families here all enjoying themselves and having a good time,” says Corbeille. “There was a point in time where people weren’t enjoying this area, but now it’s back to the way it’s supposed to be and I love seeing that. I hope more children and families can enjoy this show for many years to come.”
While many were enjoying the sights and sounds on the ground, our own Lifer Anna Hanson was enjoying the show from thousands of feet up in the air as she rode with the US Army Golden Knights, watching them perform their airplane jump not just once, but two separate times.
“Going up there it was really cold, I was actually shivering since the temperature dropped so low,” says Hanson. “But it was really incredible to see them perform the jump, they are so used to performing jumps like this every single day that it's almost second nature to them.” Hanson also commented on how the view of the air show and several other NWI areas from the air gave her an entirely different perspective on the region.
“Everything is so peaceful and geometric from the air,” says Hanson. “It was really neat to be able to see places like Hammond and the Railcats Stadium from so high up, it’s an amazing feeling to be able to watch the air show actually from the air.”
Along with the Golden Knights, several other acts entertained people with stunt planes and jets coming from all over the world in a variety of formats ranging from ethanol-fueled planes to Vietnam era fighter jets.
The show concluded with the appearance of the world famous US Air Force Thunderbirds, earning a round of applause from the crowd and a comforting reminder that despite its absence for two years, The Gary Air Show is back and people couldn’t be happier.
Photos by Kyle Hovanec and Anna Hanson
