Atlantic City airshow - What an event
Welcome to airshow day in Atlantic City.
The Thunder Over the Boardwalk Airshow has become the resort's signature event.
Consider: Hundreds of thousands of people lining the Boardwalk and the beach from Atlantic City to Ventnor, fascinating aircraft of all kinds, impressive aerial demonstrations, and all of it playing out - for free - over the Atlantic Ocean. There is nothing else like it on the East Coast. (And as local residents know, the absolutely best place to watch is from a boat sitting off the beach.)
What a show. But it's more than just a fun time. Now in its ninth year, the airshow is proof that the Atlantic City community can put on a major event and execute it flawlessly.
In 2003, the first show attracted approximately 200,000 spectators, and attendance has jumped since then like an F-16 punching holes in the sky with its afterburners ablaze. An estimated 750,00 people attended the show in 2009. Last year, a forecast of less-than-optimal weather suppressed the crowd a bit - to 650,000 people.
A 2008 economic impact study performed by Atlantic Cape Community College's Center for Regional and Business Research estimated that the airshow generates $56 million in regional economic activity.
This year, airshow week kicked off with a Boardwalk parade saluting America's armed forces. The brainchild of Press columnist and local radio personality Pinky Kravitz, the parade is a great way to extend the festivities (and the economic impact) of the event.
And after today's show, which is scheduled to run from 10:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., there's a free zydeco and Allman Brothers tribute band concert at Kennedy Plaza on the Boardwalk.
The organizers and sponsors of Thunder Over The Boardwalk deserve the region's praise. Get ready for a list - but they all deserve mention. The show is billed as community partnership between:
Siganos Management Inc.; Harrah's Entertainment Inc.; the Greater Atlantic City Chamber; the 177th Fighter Wing of the N.J. Air National Guard; the South Jersey Transportation Authority; the William J. Hughes Federal Aviation Administration Technical Center; Atlantic City International Airport; David Schultz Airshows LLC; the city of Atlantic City; Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority.
Thank you all. And here's hoping for another fun, flawless, fascinating show.