TRAVERSE CITY — The National Cherry Festival will take to the skies this weekend for its annual air show over West Grand Traverse Bay.
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels and four civilian aerobatic pilots will kick off Cherry Festival by performing “a wonderful array of acrobatic performances” on Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m., according to festival Executive Director Kat Paye.
The air show also will feature three military demonstration teams, including the A-10 Thunderbolt II Demo Team, the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City, and the Michigan Army National Guard.
“It is a spectacular display like none other,” said Trevor Tkach, president of Traverse City Tourism. “How special it is to see some of the best pilots in the world represent our country in an unbelievable display over the Fourth of July weekend. There is nothing more patriotic. I’ve seen the show dozens of times and it never gets old.”
The Blue Angels first performed in Traverse City in 1988, according to Paye. And, while they are arguably the most anticipated spectacle of this year’s air show, elite civilian pilots Michael Goulian, Nathan K. Hammond, RJ Gritter, and Mike Terfehr also will provide viewers the chance to witness their own stunning aerobatic performances.
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RJ Gritter, from Virginia, said this will be his first time flying in Traverse City, but he has been doing air shows for eight years and has been flying since he was a child.
Gritter will be doing an aerobatic performance in a Decathlon plane that was built in 1977.
“It’s a production airplane with two seats that is built to teach people aerobatics,” Gritter said. “It’s what everyone learns to fly aerobatics in, but it’s still a super capable airplane.”
The entire show “is flown to a music soundtrack, and the maneuvers that I’m flying are actually choreographed to the beat and the tone of the music,” he said. “There’s a variety of different speeds and tempos of music, and what I’m doing with the airplane is actually on the beat.”
Nathan Hammond, a pilot from Central Kentucky, said this is also his first year flying in Traverse City, although he has been flying for about 25 years.
Hammond will be doing low-level aerobatics with red, white and blue smoke coming from his plane and, as long as the sky is clear, he also will skywrite, “using the smoke as a pen in the sky.”
“It’s an art that started back in the 1920’s,” Hammond said, “and there’s only about four of us that are doing it professionally nowadays. So we keep the magic trick alive.”
Hammond said he will be flying a converted de Havilland Super Chipmunk originally built in 1956 as a trainer for the Canadian Air Force.
To prepare for the show, Hammond said he and his team like to “go quarantine in a nice quiet place and mentally start getting in the game, just dialing in making sure we’re ready for the show.”
Festival-goers will have several Air Show viewing options, including the events Picnic at the Park, at Park Place Hotel; Flight Path, at Delamar Traverse City; Indigo View Airshow, at Hotel Indigo; The Great American Picnic, at the Hagerty Center; and Flight Deck, at Open Space Park.
Paye said several of those events have already reached full capacity, and that anyone interested in attending any of them should visit cherryfestival.org for ticket availability, where individual event details also can be found.
But no need to worry about finding a place to view the air show — there are countless locations all along West Grand Traverse Bay that will offer quality views of the performances, Tkach said.
“The air show box spans the width of the bay,” he said. “So whether you’re at the farthest reaches of the west end of the beach, or more to the east, or even a little more inland, everybody’s got a spot.
“There are a lot of ways to watch this show.”
Viewers can expect locations on or near the water to be the most crowded, since a lot of people want to be on the water and close to the action.
“And I don’t blame them,” Tkach said. “It’s incredible.”
Residents and visitors also will have a special opportunity to see the stars of the air show up close.
According to Paye, anyone can drop by the Coast Guard Open Ramp from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Friday for a chance to look at the planes and jets and maybe even meet some of the pilots, “who will be on the ramp with their aircrafts.”
“That’s a fun event, and a rarity as the air station opens to the public,” Paye said.
The air show pilots also will “be doing some maneuvers and practicing” on Tuesday from 1 to 4 p.m. and on Thursday from 9 to 11 a.m. and 3 to 4 p.m., she said.
Although local forecasts do not predict weekend temperatures to exceed the low 80s, Tkach urged air show spectators to take weather-related precautions before attending the event:
“[If] it’s hot and the sun is coming down hard, I recommend people bring water and sunscreen and have [access] to shade. In my experience, [getting caught off-guard by the weather] has been the only thing that’s ruined a good time for anybody experiencing the air show. Hopefully, people are thinking ahead and are prepared so they can have a great day.
“It’s true Americana,” he added. “You’ve got one of the grandest representations of patriotism with the Blue Angels rolling right into a wonderful Fourth of July fireworks show.”
Tkach said that the Cherry Festival Air Show is “a unifying opportunity, and I hope everybody has a chance to take part [in it].”
The air show will take place on Saturday, June 29, and Sunday, June 30 from 1 to 4 p.m. Practice sessions are scheduled for June 25, from 1 to 4 p.m.; June 27, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and on June 28 from 1 to 4 p.m., according to a National Cherry Festival community notice.
“We are incredibly excited to bring this exhilarating Air Show to the National Cherry Festival,” Paye said in the notice. “It is a highlight of our event each year that thrills audiences of all ages. We appreciate the community’s understanding regarding the noise and hope everyone will join us in celebrating this spectacular display of aerial demonstrations.”
For more details about the air show and all other National Cherry Festival events, see Sunday’s Record-Eagle for the National Cherry Festival Program online or visit cherryfestival.org.
