The Great Milwaukee Summer is HERE! Your guide to what you'll be doing, where you'll be drinking, who you'll be hearing and how you'll be getting a sweet tan this summer is on OnMilwaukee. The Great Milwaukee Summer guide is brought to you by Educators Credit Union and Harley-Davidson Museum.
I feel the need. The need ... for the Air & Water Show. (And also speed.)
Yes, we've traded out the roar of Harleys for the roar of fighter jets in Milwaukee, as the 2023 Air & Water Show will soar up as well as splash down around the lakefront on Saturday, July 22 and Sunday, July 23. The famous Blue Angels will once again take to the skies over the weekend – along with their C-130 "Fat Albert" support aircraft – along with helicopter demos, the Air Force F-16 Viper demo team, the P-8 Poseidon, a North American B-25 WWII bomber, aerobatics champions and many more. And that's just what you'll find far above Lake Michigan, as there's plenty more to find on the lake itself this weekend courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard and others.
Here's the current schedule for Saturday and Sunday's high-flying Air & Water Show on the lakefront:
- 8 a.m. – Parking lots open
- 9 a.m. – Gates open
- 10:30-11:30 a.m. – Water show
- Noon until 4 p.m. – Air show
- 3 p.m. – Navy Blue Angels
In case of inclement weather, the Air & Water Show will still go on – though individual acts may be grounded due to safety and visibility concerns.
In addition to all the action in the air and water, the grounds around the lakefront, McKinley Beach, Bradford Beach and the Lincoln Memorial Drive drag will also be filled with related exhibits, vendors and displays. Click here for more information about the vendors expected this weekend.
Limited tickets for reserved seating and reserved parking locations are still available at the Air & Water Show's website – though, as always, the front-row view from Bradford Beach is free and open to the public throughout the weekend. In fact, just about all of the lakefront and rooftop Downtown areas become great seats for watching the sky-sprawling event – here are some great options around town.
Another option for taking in the aerial excitement? Food Truck Fest! Indeed, if the need for speed gets you feeling a need for feed, Food Truck Fest will be just down the lakefront at Henry Maier Festival Park, offering a great view of the Lake Michigan skies while hosting around 20 food trucks serving up all sorts of tasty dishes from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. and 4-8 p.m.
For more information about the Air & Water Show – including even more performers, presentations and beyond, as well as guidelines for show attendees – visit the event's website. And for even more summer fun, check out OnMilwaukee's summer festival guide.
As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.
When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.
