Chicago Air and Water Show takes flight

The roar of an engine caused the pavement on the Lakefront Trail to vibrate. 

A young boy covered his ears as a soaring jet tore by. 

The crowd roared and applauded as a team of fighter jets twirled in unison and fanned out, creating a giant heart made of white smoke trails along the skyline. 

The city’s latest rite of late-summer aerial passage took flight Saturday morning near North Avenue Beach, as thousands gathered for the Chicago Air and Water Show’s second full-scale spectacle in as many years. 

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

The show ran Saturday until 3 p.m. along the lakefront from Fullerton to Oak Street with North Avenue Beach as a focal point. 

Families crowded the lakefront from Fullerton to Oak Street, pointing skyward with every crack, roar and boom of a jet engine. 

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At the beach, children were playing in Lake Michigan as show spectators were sprawled out on towels, in tents and underneath umbrellas. 

One child buried his body in sand while others were tossing around a football. As the children played, planes from the show’s lineup continued to twirl, bob and weave across the sky. 

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Anoosh Varda watched on as his son looked at a plane twirling in the sky through binoculars. Varda’s son then passed the binoculars to Varda as he caught his own glimpse of the swirling plane. 

“The time I spend with my son is priceless,” Varda, 34, told the Sun-Times. 

The family made a roughly hour-long trip from Barrington to experience their first show. 

Families at the beach doused themselves in sunscreen and held umbrellas as a source of shade on a sunny day. 

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

David F., 35, carried his 2-year-old son — only sporting a cap and diaper — as he pointed out a plane flying over Lake Michigan. 

Saturday was the first time they attended the show and David was looking forward to showing his son different planes as he played in the sand. 

During the show, an announcement over the speakers notified beachgoers that a 4-year-old boy was missing. When a followup announcement said the boy had been reunited with his family, a section of the beach erupted into cheers.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Pat Hollon, 55, looked forward to seeing the Blue Angels during the show. He first attended in 2021 and told the Sun-Times the event was “a sign that society was opening back up.” 

The show was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic and was presented in 2021 in a distinctly scaled-back, hourlong presentation by the Navy Blue Angels.

Hollon, like many at the beach, was in attendance with his family.

“Whenever you can enjoy an experience with family members, it makes it more enjoyable.”

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

The United States Air Force Thunderbirds and U.S. Army Parachute Team Golden Knights provided the headlining showcases, as usual. 

Four Thunderbird jets flew in unison as Macklemore and Skylar Grey’s “Glorious” blared over the intercom. 

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Two of the jets created a “mirror image” with one plane flying in tandem with another flipped below it, sailing across the sky in the same direction. 

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Another stunt saw two of the jets zooming toward each other at over 1,000 mph before dodging out of each other’s way at close proximity. 

The Air and Water Show dates back to 1959, when it only had a budget of $88, according to an official website for Chicago. 

The planes and boats return to the lakefront Sunday from 10:30 a.m. till 3 p.m.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times