Cherry Point Air show ready to celebrate flight

Cherry Point plans to “Celebrate the Heritage” of Marine Corps aviation and the base at its air show scheduled for May 4 to 6.

Base officials announced the theme of the show — “Celebrate the Heritage” — on Tuesday, with Vanceboro’s Paul Ringheiser winning the theme contest. He beat out 152 other entries.

This year’s air show will feature the Navy’s Blue Angels as the base celebrates its 70th anniversary as well as the 100th anniversary of Marine Corps aviation.

Other highlights of the show include a Marine Air-Ground Task Force demonstration, a jet powered rocket truck, the Red Tails squadron and a number of other civilian and military flight demonstrations.

There will also be plenty of activities on the ground, including a Multi-Cultural Heritage Walk, a fun zone for children, static displays of modern and historic military aircraft and a concert featuring country music singers Bill Gentry, Darryl Worley and David Kroll.

The Night Show, a traditional favorite among air show patrons, is scheduled to include pyrotechnic displays, the Wall of Fire ordnance demonstration and a large fireworks display with patriotic music to cap the May 4 event. Gates open at 5 p.m., with the show set for 7:30 p.m.

Two days shows follow on May 5 and 6, with gates opening at 8 a.m. and flying taking place from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

All three days of the air show are free and open to the public.  Special options exist for premium, bleacher, box or chalet seating at various costs.

The air show is deemed the largest in North Carolina and one of the largest in the Southeast.

For information as well as to purchase tickets for special seating, call 1-866-946-4762 or go online to the air show website at www.cherrypointairshow.com.