As the Chicago Air Show roars to life this weekend from the Gary/Chicago International Airport, Gary’s own Air Show has been grounded for this year.
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The City, along with the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority, announced Friday afternoon that with the “widespread impact of the recent storms that have caused significant damage throughout Northwest Indiana and the City of Gary,” the city won’t be able to divert resources from its recovery efforts.
“This was not an easy decision,” Gary Mayor Eddie Melton said in a release. “The Gary Air Show is a remarkable event that residents and visitors throughout the region have enjoyed for many years. However, our responsibility right now is to focus every available resource on helping our residents, restoring our neighborhoods and returning Gary to normalcy as quickly as possible.
“Given the magnitude of this disaster, it would not be responsible to extend our resources toward an event when our community needs them most.”
SSCVA President and CEO Phil Taillon told the Post-Tribune Friday that he and his team toured the area at Marquette Park in which the show would be held and saw there’s too much damage to even consider trying.
“There are a lot of trees down: in the vendor areas where people would be selling food, where parking is, it’s unbelievable,” Taillon said. “We worked through every scenario, and we wanted to do it, but the devastation is too great, and there’s just no way that Mayor Melton could divert police and fire away from it to work an event. It’s the right decision.”
Because the event is 100% sponsor-funded, Taillon said he’d been talking with the sponsors and vendors Friday to think about putting on an air show-related event later in the year. As well, he and SSCVA attorneys will be going through the state’s disaster declaration and the organization’s insurance policy to ensure any other costs will be covered.
“It remains to be seen, but potentially, we don’t expect to lose a lot of money from this,” he said. “It’s sponsorship-funded, so taxpayer dollars aren’t involved.”
Taillon added in a SSCVA release that “organizers remain committed to bringing the event back in 2027 and celebrating the resilience and strength of the Northwest Indiana community.”
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.