CHICAGO — The Chicago Air and Water Show is the largest free air show of its kind in the world. It draws huge crowds every year, typically somewhere around a million people.
And when the US Navy Blue Angels come roaring by, every one of those people is in awe.
“The Blue Angels are the best of the best,” says Dave Adams, operations manager for the Air and Water Show. “Everybody, when they know the Blue Angels are flying, they come out in droves.
“Whether you’re 55 or five years old, and you see those jets flying by, everybody turns into a kid with their mouth open, and they’re in awe.”
This weekend’s splendid weather has certainly drawn as many or more people to the lakefront than usual, with the second and final day of the annual Air and Water Show running Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The show can be viewed from Oak Street to Fullerton, but North Avenue Beach is the main venue for viewing all the aerial histrionics.
For Sunday’s edition of the WGN Weekend Morning News Weekend Break, Julian Crews — donning a hat absolutely perfect for the brilliant sunshine — headed to North Ave. Beach and chatted with Adams and Ann Hickey, Chicago Deputy Commissioner of Operations.
Adams reminded people that there are great shows on the water, too, which get going about 10 a.m. Sunday.
He also said he’s never seen a better three days of weather, including for Friday’s practice run, that what Chicago has been blessed with this weekend. Adams has been working the show since 1994.
“I can’t recall having three days of perfect conditions, low humidity, not a cloud in the sky,” he said. “This is a real treat.”
Adams also talked about some of the air performances lined up for Sunday. See the video attached to this story for more.
Hickey, meanwhile, said it takes a citywide effort to plan and execute the Air and Water Show.
“While our office may actually coordinate it, it takes so much more to put it on,” she says. “… People are in the air, in the water and on the land.”
Hickey also noted that with a crowd in the hundreds of thousands, getting to Chicago’s lakefront could be a challenge. So she reminded those planning to head to the Air and Water Show that there are public transportation methods available.
Metra and the CTA has added resources for the show, and patrons can also park in the Millennium Garage and take a free trolley to North Ave. Beach.
“There are a lot of people coming, but there are still ways to get here,” Hickey said.
See the video below for more from Hickey: