Traditionally a three-day affair, this year's Air & Water show (No. 2 on our list of Top Festivals) has been shortened to two days.
According to The Chicago Tribune, the reformatted show—set to take place between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. this Saturday and Sunday—will include stunts from the two-pilot Firebrands X-treme aerobatics team. Throughout the weekend, the Red Bull helicopter will perform back flips and other "things helicopters aren't supposed to do," said Mary May, a rep for the mayor's office of special events.
Other acts will include Brian Otto, a member of the Chicago Fire Department's air and sea rescue team, jumping with the Army Parachute Team Golden Knights on Sunday. Otto told The Tribune that he gets to perform the feat because he won an Airforce Thunderbirds "Hometown Hero" contest after his mother nominated him.
Megan McDonald of the mayor's office of special events said the Air & Water show pulls in enough sponsorship dollars to help cover the cost of other free happenings that the city puts on throughout the year. Of the two million attendees expected at this weekend's show, McDonald said: "I understand that the traffic...may be an inconvenience, but this event has been happening for 51 years."
