CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — This weekend’s Chicago Air and Water Show will have some new performances for crowds along the lakefront.
The Air Force’s Thunderbirds will return to the show for the first time in five years. Public Affairs Officer Capt. Kaity Toner said the precision team has revamped its show since that 2018 appearance.
“It opens with a bang,” Toner said. “It has a climax in the middle, kind of like … an emotional storyline, and then it ends with a bang, too. It’s a production.”
The Army’s Golden Knight parachute team will also have an update for the lakefront audience, said Staff Sgt. Nahu Ramirez.
“We have some new parachutes that are able to fly a lot faster due to their rigid capabilities, so the crowd can expect us to do a lot more of [the] parachute acrobatics this year,” he said.
Among the Golden Knights dropping down onto North Avenue Beach: Spc. Brandon Hexum, a Peoria native.
“It’s huge for me,” Hexum said. “My family’s coming out, so [I’m] really looking forward to that.”
The city expects up to two million people to come out over the three days, said manager Dave Adams. After two years of cloudy weather, that sunshine will definitely be welcome.
“Everybody knows that it’s going to be clear skies and warm, and even just on a regular Saturday or Sunday, that’s going to bring people to the beach,” Adams said. “Now you throw an air show into the mix.”
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