Ocean City Air Show takes to the sky this weekend

All eyes will turn to the sky for Ocean City’s Air Show this weekend.

All events are free to attend. The early forecasts call for sunny and clear skies.

The celebration starts with the Ocean City Airport Festival from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The festival features a ground display of unusual airplanes ranging from World War II planes to warbirds and classics.

The event will also feature a parachute jump from Team Fastrax, “America’s Skydiving Team.” It also will include food vendors, music, vehicle displays and kids’ activities.

The skydiving team will perform at the Airport Festival at noon, depending on wind and weather conditions. Ocean City Council President Pete Madden is scheduled to make a tandem jump with one of the team professionals.

A half-mile “Runway Run/Walk” will return and is open to all ages. It offers a chance for anybody to cover ground normally traversed only by planes. The run will go off immediately after the skydiving jump.

Children’s activities will include airplane and coloring contests between 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. All-day activities include “Bubble Mania,” face-painting, helicopter rides available for purchase, city vehicle displays and special guests Martin and Mollie Mollusk.

The festival takes place at the Municipal Airport at 26th Street and Bay Avenue. Additional parking for the festival will be available at Shelter Road (off Tennessee Avenue) with free shuttle service provided.

    The Team Fastrax skydivers will stage a nighttime jump complete with pyrotechnics. (Photo courtesy of Ocean City)
 DONALD B. KRAVITZ   

The Parachute Pyrotechnic Show will go off over Ocean City at 8 p.m. Saturday. The show consists of several highly trained and specially licensed Team Fastrax parachutists exiting an aircraft 6,000 feet above Ocean City’s beach and Boardwalk.

Brilliant white or multicolored projectile pyrotechnics are then ignited as the parachutists fly in formation, creating a dazzling display for spectators on the ground. The jump will end with a landing on the Seventh Street Beach and will be viewable along the entire Boardwalk.

The Boardwalk Aerobatic Air Show will bring some of the best stunt pilots and aerobatic champions in the nation to put on a show over the beach and Boardwalk starting at 1 p.m. Sunday. Some of the performers will include:

• Rick Volker Air Shows: Volker pushes the boundaries of both low- and high-speed limits, and artfully utilizes the smallest three-dimensional space to create a masterpiece of entertainment.
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• David Windmiller Air Shows: Windmiller will execute gyroscopic tumbles, spins, aerial cartwheels, torque rolls and soaring feats of precision in a light and agile Zivko Edge 540.
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• Jersey Jerks: The “Jerks” are highly experienced and trained formation pilots who have been a part of the Warbird community for most of their lives.
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• Full Throttle Formation Team: Aviation professionals with more than 300,000 total hours of flight experience in military and commercial aircraft. They fly “Van's Aircraft” experimental aircraft.
• Team Fastrax: The team will make a jump to open the show.

Thousands of spectators typically soak up some of the final days of the calendar summer as they watch the spectacle from the beach and Boardwalk. The show is best viewed from the area between Fifth Street and 14th Street.

There is no rain date for any of the shows, and air performances may be canceled if weather conditions do not allow for safe flying.

    Patrolman Shane Rauner, left, and Firefighter John Simonson deliver the wreath to the front of the Ocean City Tabernacle during a somber ceremony in 2023 commemorating 9/11.   

 ALSO COMING UP IN SEPTEMBER:

Sept. 14

Ocean City ALS United Walk Presented by Village ShopRite (Sept. 14): The walk starts at 10 a.m. (with check-in at 9 a.m.) at the Ocean City Sports and Civic Center. Joining the walk is free, but online registration is encouraged at oceancityalsunitedwalk.org.

The Atlantic City Ballet With the Ocean City Pops: Return of an artistic partnership at the Ocean City Music Pier. Tickets available at oceancityvacation.com/boxoffice or 609-399-6111.

Sept. 15

Kristin Chenoweth with the Ocean City Pops: The Emmy and Tony-winning singer helps the Ocean City Pops close the 2024 season. Tickets available at oceancityvacation.com/boxoffice or 609-399-6111.

Sept. 18

British on the Boardwalk: Sponsored by the Austin-Healey Sports & Touring Club, more than 50 examples of this iconic sports car will be on display on the Boardwalk from noon to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18. More information: austin-healey-stc.org/show.html.

Sept. 21
Ocean City Jeep Invasion: Jeeps will be displayed on the Boardwalk between Fifth Street and 14th Street from noon to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.NJJeepInvasion.com.

Sept. 22

OCNJ Half Marathon, 5k & 10 Mile Non-Competitive Walk/Run: Choose your distance and participate in one of New Jersey’s favorite race events. Advance registration required for the half marathon. Sign up early to save on registration fees at www.ocnj.us/Race-Events.

Sept. 28-29

MS City to Shore Ride: About 7,000 cyclists raise millions of dollars through a two-day charity ride from Philadelphia area to Ocean City and back. For more information, call 1-800-445-BIKE or visit www.mscycling.org.

    Altogether, thousands of cyclists cross the finish line in Ocean City in the Bike MS: City to Shore fundraiser.