Soggy parking spots and over five inches of rain will not put a halt to airshow festivities at Strother Field this weekend, Strother manager Shawn McGrew said Thursday.
“The rain has got us moving kind of slow, a few of the planes are having a little trouble getting in,” he said. “But some of the performers are already here, so it’s coming together. We’re putting the trashcans and porta-potties out.”
At the moment, the major issue for the air show is parking. With thousands expected to attend, organizers had planned to use two large, freshly-mowed fields toaccommodate all the cars. But those fields would quickly become a muddy mess if people parked there this weekend.
So McGrew has made arrangements that will allow parking at the former Tango Trucking site, just south of Strother. Two school buses and some handicapped accessible vans will ship spectators to the show.
“Now I just have to get the word out,” he said.
Gates open at 4 p.m. Friday for day one of a two-day celebration of Strother Field, a former military air base turned civilian airstrip and industrial park. McGrew expects a smaller turnout for the opening celebration festivities, including dancing and fireworks, Friday night and a larger crowd for the actual air show Saturday.
The gates will open at 6 a.m. on Saturday and festivities that day begin with a pancake feed.
The event is celebrating Strother’s 60th year as a civilian facility and industrial park. Admission is $5 for adults and free for children 12 and under when accompanied by an adult.
Good weather is forecast for Saturday but the air show would move to Sunday just in case the weather is bad.
