Chicago Air & Water Show: Parking, Performers And More

CHICAGO — The Chicago Air & Water Show returns to the Windy City this weekend, with the high-flying fun for 2024 coinciding with Chicago Navy Week.

The largest free event of its kind, the show will be held 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday from Fullerton Avenue to Oak Street along Lake Michigan, with North Avenue Beach serving as its center.

Headliners include the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, flying their iconic F/A-18E Super Hornets, and the U.S. Army Parachute Team Golden Knights, who will jump from 12,000 feet to the beach below.

New this year are stunt pilot RJ Gritter and his acrobatic Decathlon 150 CS as well as the Trojan Phlyers with their historical North American Aviation Company T-28B aircraft.

Herb Hunter, a staple of the show for over 35 years, will return to narrate. WBBM will broadcast the event live on the radio and on the Audacy app.

“The Chicago Air & Water Show is a grand spectacle unique to our great city, pairing the world’s best pilots and sailors against the backdrop of beautiful Lake Michigan and our stunning Chicago skyline,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a news release. “We are thrilled to again welcome the roar of the jets and millions of spectators to the lakefront for this annual show, which is part of the quintessential Chicago summer experience.”

There will be a sand accessibility mat between the Castaways beach seating area and event staging barricades, and an audio description will be available online for those who are blind or low vision.

Pickup and dropoff is at the North Avenue northbound entrance to Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable Lake Shore Drive. Millennium Park Garages are offering discounted pre-purchase parking and a shuttle to inner Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable Lake Shore Drive.

The CTA No. 72 bus will be rerouted past North Avenue Beach, where it normally stops, and there will be no public parking at the beach either.

For more information about the event, visit ChicagoAirandWaterShow.us.