Air & Sea show returns to Miami Beach. Here’s how to watch it (and where to park)
If you’re driving down I-95 and happen to spot a 150-foot-long trailer with 46 axles towing a 60-ton military tank, don’t panic.
All it means is the Hyundai Air & Sea Show is coming back to town.
The annual family-friendly celebration of the U.S. military, which takes place on Memorial Day weekend on Miami Beach, brings together pilots and performers from five branches of the service as well as cigarette boat racing, Motocross stunts, top jet skiers and parachute teams. There’s also a Saturday night concert from 3 Doors Down and fireworks.
The event is nonstop action. But Mickey Markoff, executive producer of the Hyundai Air & Sea Show, likes to keep in mind the real reason it exists.
On Memorial Day, “people were going out and buying mattresses or having a barbecue,” he says. “But the holiday was designed to pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice. There’s no better time to pay tribute to the men and women of our military and our first responders.”
There are many ways to enjoy the show, and many of them won’t cost you a thing. You can throw down a blanket on the nearby sands for free and watch the action on the sea and in the sky. You can explore a four-block village of military technology and pose in a fighter jet cockpit, also for free.
Or you can spring for VIP treatment at various levels. How you enjoy the weekend is really up to you.
You can even watch from your boat, although there are restrictions. The ocean is shut down in roughly a two-thirds of a mile by almost three mile stretch, a special safety zone that will be enforced from 8 a.m. May 28 until 5 p.m. May 29. The show also diverts traffic from Miami International Airport, taking up five miles of airspace.
Markoff says stage managing of the show is complicated but worthwhile.
“It’s a multi-dimensional jigsaw puzzle,” he says. “There are a lot of moving pieces. But we have a great team, and working with the city and the county, we have a real community event here, with something for everybody.”
Markoff knows adults and kids alike love the boats and the planes, the high-flying bikes and the Jet Ski spins. But for him, another element stands out.
“The world has become a self-serving place,” he says. “But in our military, it’s service before self. There’s integrity and excellence. It’s important to showcase these core values of our country.”
Here’s how to navigate the show:
Pre-event parties
6:30-9:30 p.m. May 26: The weekend kicks off with a welcome for all performers and pilots at the Oasis in Wynwood with the Jack Daniels Performers Take Off Party, with live music and a DJ.
6:30-9:30 p.m. May 27: “Heroes Vodka Salute on Española Way” welcomes the military to the pedestrian-friendly street.
Display village
This free, four-block-long area from 11th to 15th streets along Ocean Drive is full of interactive displays, including simulators and training equipment. You can pose in your best “Top Gun” mode in a fighter jet cockpit and talk with members of the armed forces — and also get a close-up look at that tank. There’s also a high-flying Monster Energy Drink Motocross exhibition, a kids’ zone and plenty of concessions. The entrance is at 14th Street and Ocean Drive.
LiquorSplit Beach Club
If you want to view the festivities in a little more comfort, you can buy tickets to the LiquorSplit-sponsored beach club, a veritable village built on the sand. Located just east of the Display Village, it will also have food and drinks, plus a cabana club area. Closer to the water is the Umbrella Club, where kind waitstaff will deliver drinks to you right on the beach.
What you’ll see in the air
Look up and out to see flybys by bombers (including the famous B-52 bomber) and other aircraft, including the F-15 fighter jet. There will also be demonstrations by search and rescue and parachute teams.
12:45-5:30 p.m.
What you’ll see in the sea
The water events include cigarette offshore powerboat demonstrations, Thundercat boat exhibition, a Jet Ski freestyle exhibition and a flyboard demonstration.
11:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Concerts, fireworks and more
After 5:30 p.m. Saturday, the entertainment includes an evening parachute jump and music from military bands, then a concert from 3 Doors Down, capping off with fireworks sponsored by Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association.
Changing traffic pattern
Driving around Miami Beach this weekend will be a little different (and almost certainly more aggravating).
Starting at 6 p.m. May 26 and running through May 30, traffic will only be allowed to enter Ocean Drive through 13th Street and exit through Fifth Street, with no access to other entry or exit points. Collins and Washington avenues will flow north and south but have no east or westbound access except for Fifth and 16th streets.
Miami Beach trolley service and Miami-Dade County bus service will operate as normal.
Parking
Parking looms as one of the greatest fears of the locals, but Markoff says in past years the big garages, such as the ones at 13th and 16th streets, have not sold out during the day. “Last year they didn’t have to turn anybody away,” he said.
There will be free shuttle service to and from several garages from 9 a.m.-8 p.m. both days every 15 minutes or so.
▪ 42nd Street garage: Shuttle will serve trolley stop #219 at Sheridan Avenue and 41st Street.
▪ 23rd Street garage: Shuttle will serve trolley stop #194 at 23rd Street and Liberty Avenue.
▪ 17th Street, Pennsylvania Avenue and the City Hall garages: Shuttle will serve trolley stop #200 at 17th Street and Convention Center Drive.
▪ Fifth Street garage: Shuttle will serve trolley stop #113 at Sixth Street and Lenox Avenue.
Check shuttle ID before boarding or use Miami Beach e-Gov app to track service in real time.
Hyundai Air & Sea Show
Where: 1001 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach; main viewing areas are at Lummus Park between 11th and 14th streets
When: May 28-29
Cost: Display village free; general admission to beach club and concert $65 Saturday; general admission to beach club $45 Sunday; concert only $30. VIP $275-$350; Umbrella Club for four $450; cabanas $4,200.
Tickets: usasalute.com
This story was originally published May 23, 2022 at 6:00 AM.