Moses Lake Air Show to move to different dates for 2025

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Air Show will move to a new weekend in 2025 and change back to a Friday-Saturday show. 

Rich Mueller of the air show’s board of directors (and the airport director for the Port of Moses Lake) reviewed the 2024 event and talked about some of the changes coming for 2025. He spoke during the regular port commission meeting Monday morning. 

Mueller did not have the final financial results from the 2024 air show. The treasurer was unavailable Monday and will provide the financial report at a later date, Mueller said. 

The air show will be June 20 and 21, rather than Father’s Day weekend.  

“Part of that has to do with some of the events we’re trying to schedule, and part of that has to do with the hope that if you push it back, we won’t have to deal with a windstorm like we did (in 2024),” Mueller said. 

The high winds from June 15 last year affected the schedule and may have contributed to a drop in attendance, he said. The other major change in 2025 is what days of the week the event will be held. 

“Originally our air show was Friday and Saturday, and then we moved it Saturday and Sunday,” Mueller said. “There was a belief that in doing it over the weekend, we would have a larger turnout. Honestly, between having it Friday and Saturday versus Saturday and Sunday, we’ve not seen a major difference. So, we’re going back to the Friday-Saturday (schedule). That means our practice (and) media day would become a Thursday.”  

The high winds were good for some participants – especially the short takeoff and landing competitors – but bad for attendance, Mueller said.  

“Unfortunately, we’ve been able, up until this last show, to demonstrate that we’ve had a 20-plus percent growth year after year, and we actually went backwards 7% because of the windstorm we had that day,” he said. “We feel we’ve got to make that up.”  

For 2024 the air show drew 8,705 attendees. 

“We were hoping to be around 12,000 last year,” Mueller said.  

Of those, an estimated 76% percent came from further than 60 miles to attend, and 11% were from out of state.  

The Port was the air show’s biggest single sponsor in 2024, contributing about $60,000. The show had a number of corporate sponsors, which was about $145,800 when added together. Grant County tourism funds accounted for another $75,000, split between the city of Moses Lake and the county, Mueller said.  

“The board is strongly committed to increasing the corporate sponsorship side. They want to make sure that anyone who wants to come to the Moses Lake air show can. So they have adjusted the tickets downward this year. And their goal is ultimately, if they can, make this a fully sponsored event,” Mueller said. 

Tickets are on sale now and are $20 per person through Feb. 28. They can be purchased at the air show website, www.moseslakeair show.com. 

He estimated the air show provided about $372,000 in economic benefits to the community between people patronizing businesses and staying in local accommodations. 

The short takeoff and landing competition will return in 2025, and Mueller said that proved to be a good addition.  

“Aside from (being) something new and interesting to have at our air show, it also makes our air show part of a larger national event, being one of the legs in the STOL series that goes around the country,” Mueller said. 

The 2024 air show featured a demonstration of the A-10 Warthog, designed to support ground forces. 

“The fact that we were able to get the Warthog for the demo this last year was fantastic because it was their last year,” Mueller said. “That plane is never going to out as a demo aircraft at air shows again, so the fact the port pulled that off is pretty good. 

“Getting the (A-10) was fantastic,” he said. “We need to be able to bring more one-of-a-kind stuff out here. That’s what’s going to bring people out to Moses Lake.”  

Demonstration aircraft, and planes that people can walk up to and get a good look, are reliable attractions, Mueller said.  

“We’ve had good representation from our military with static display,” he said.

Air show organizers want to continue bringing in military aircraft for the static displays, he said, as well as add more general aviation. Mueller said he would like to see more aircraft from Canada.  

Radio-controlled aircraft also have been an attraction, he said, and they will return in 2025. There will be more involvement from some of the regional RC clubs, he said, rather than the national professional circuit.  

“They’ve been able to demonstrate what little aircraft can do,” he said. “And it’s a great first step into aviation. For people who aren’t quite ready to hop into a plane, they can at least learn about aviation and aeronautics with the small aircraft.” 

    Historical aviation pilots talk shop at the 2024 Moses Lake Air show. The show gets a new date for 2025.
  

    Attendees got a close look at various aircraft in the static displays at the 2024 Moses Lake Air show. Organizers hope to add more aircraft to the static displays in 2025.