Air & Sea Show returns to Miami Beach for Memorial Day Weekend with new COVID rules
After being canceled last year due to COVID-19, the Hyundai Air & Sea Show will return to South Beach next weekend with its trademark military demonstrations — but without its annual concert and fireworks display.
The Memorial Day Weekend event, which runs May 29-30, will feature military flyovers and parachute launches, extreme-sport demonstrations on land and sea, and interactive military exhibits with photo opportunities.
Teams from the U.S. Air Force, Army, Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection will perform simulated training exercises. Pilots steering Air Force fighter jets, bombers, transport planes and helicopters will soar through the South Beach skies. Parachute squads from the U.S. Army and British Army will float in from overhead.
“Everybody can enjoy this,” said Mickey Markoff, executive producer of the Air & Sea Show.
This year, the Air & Sea Show will be set up east of Lummus Park from 10th to 15th streets. Ticketed seating on the beach is available for as little as $40 per day, but you can also watch the show for free on the city’s public beaches from about First to 23rd streets — or from other vantage points like a high-rise building.
Entry is free for the show’s display village — a four-block area of Ocean Drive filled with interactive displays — as well as its concessionaires and motocross exhibition area.
Masks are mandatory in the display village and at the show site, but may be removed while seated in the open beach area or at designated spaces to eat and drink, according to the event’s COVID health and safety protocols. If someone is flagged by virus-sniffing dogs as being COVID positive, they will be asked to take a PCR rapid test on site. If they test positive, they won’t be allowed inside.
Markoff told the Miami Herald that the event will “bring back the true spirit of Memorial Day,” while providing a family-friendly event during what has historically been a challenging party weekend for Miami Beach.
“What this does is it gives good, positive programming to the city,” he said.
During the holiday weekend, which is known for party crowds and a strong police presence, Miami Beach will also impose “high-impact” rules to limit overcrowding at the beach, traffic congestion and the renting of vehicles popular among tourists.
“We look forward to welcoming everyone back this year to enjoy one of the country’s largest military air and sea shows,” City Manager Alina T. Hudak wrote in a statement. “This is a terrific way to remember and honor the brave men and women who sacrificed their lives for this great nation and those first responders who have stood shoulder to shoulder with our community throughout the pandemic. We also want everyone to know that we will be taking proactive measures to make sure all of our residents and visitors stay safe.”
Air & Sea Show schedule
The display village, which will open both days from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., will feature interactive displays like Air Force flight and navigation simulators, Marine Corps rifle range simulators and military recruitment booths. Freestyle Motocross drivers will also jump motorcycles over ramps in the nearby “Action Zone.”
Sea events, like Jet Ski and flyboard exhibitions, start at 11 a.m. each day. Military flyovers and aerial demonstrations will take place from 12 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Teams from the U.S. Air Force, Army, Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection will perform simulated training exercises.
At noon on May 29, a swearing-in ceremony will be held for 500 military recruits.
Markoff said his goal with the event is to thank those who serve in the military and establish a signature event for Memorial Day Weekend, which he said used to be known only as the best time to buy discounted mattresses.
“It’s sad when people sort of lose sight of what’s really important. For me it’s about counting your blessings and being grateful,” Markoff said.
The Air & Sea Show, which is produced by A National Salute to America’s Heroes, has been held in South Beach since 2017. The organizers are signed on to host the annual show through 2024. The city has agreed to waive about $305,000 in permit fees and police, fire and city sanitation services.
The agreement between the city and the organizers allows for a concert and fireworks display, but in March the city wrote Markoff a letter asking him to cancel the events, citing COVID precautions. Then in April, the city changed its mind and approached Markoff asking if the events could proceed as planned. But by then, it was too late, Markoff said. He had released his vendors and the concert act.
“We had a concert and the funding and the fireworks,” he said. “They canceled us.”
Markoff disputed a memo the city released in April, which said Markoff lacked sponsors and funding to host the events. Marcia Monserrat, chief of staff to the city manager, said the memo was not inaccurate but could have explained the situation more clearly. It did not, for example, mention the March letter canceling the events.
“We told him don’t do it, then asked if he could do it,” Monserrat said.
This article has been updated to include additional information about the cancellation of the concert and fireworks.
This story was originally published May 19, 2021 at 2:44 PM.
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