2021 Westmoreland airshow to feature drive-in attendance, livestream, flyovers

This year’s airshow at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport is moving to a new drive-in format, under tentative plans for complying with covid-19 pandemic restrictions.

At the same time, organizers want to expand the show’s reach, with proposed livestreaming of the event and some civilian performers expected to fly over portions of Westmoreland County.

The county airport authority, which operates the Unity airport and plans the Shop ’n Save Westmoreland County Airshow, approved pursuing the drive-in option at its Tuesday meeting.

“It’s going to be a very different operation this year than in the past,” Authority Executive Director Gabe Monzo said of the show, slated for Memorial Day weekend, May 29 and 30. “It’s going to be a work in progress, but we’re going to do it, and we’re pretty exited about the prospects.”

To avoid large congregations of people, most of those attending the show in person will remain in their vehicles, with a separate portable toilet available for each row of cars, Monzo said.

Describing the tentative plans, he said, “Food will be distributed out of a truck that will move to the people. They won’t have to come to a food stand.”

Under current guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for limiting the potential spread of covid-19, the show should be able to accommodate about 1,000 vehicles, Monzo said. He noted that could change as pandemic conditions evolve.

General admission is slated at $100 per vehicle with up to eight occupants. Tickets are to be available at Shop ’n Save supermarkets, which remain a main sponsor of the show.

The new admission price should allow the authority to meet expenses for the show, Monzo said. Any excess revenue from the event will be donated to the Westmoreland County Food Bank, he said.

Monzo said the show still will have a VIP seating area, spaced to allow 6 feet of distance between parties. VIP passes, priced at $150 and available at palmerairport. com, are sold out for May 29.

New this year, Monzo said, “We’re going to bring this airshow to Westmoreland County, not just the airport.”

Those who attend in person will get the full experience, including “that rumble” of plane engines close at hand, he noted. But the show, featuring the Navy’s Blue Angels and Air Force F-22 Raptor jet teams, also will be livestreamed, according to Monzo.

He said the additional civilian aircraft flyovers will serve as a salute to essential workers during the pandemic, in keeping with this year’s airshow theme: “A Hero’s Tribute.”

“We’ll post the route once we know what it is,” Monzo said. “We’re happy that we can do it. We’re really excited about it.”