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Weather blamed for low attendance at weekend events

Dayton Air Show attendance fell by 15 percent, organizers say.

Ty Greenlees Corey Daulton of West Liberty uses his shirt to block the sun for his second trip to the Vectren Dayton Air Show on Saturday.

ENLARGE PHOTO

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By Kelli Wynn and John Nolan
Staff Writers Updated 8:03 AM Tuesday, July 26, 2011

DAYTON — High heat and humidity this past weekend stifled attendance at at least two major events and could impede attendance at other events this week as temperatures are expected to rise again.

Attendance at the Vectren Dayton Air Show at Dayton International Airport fell an estimated 15 percent to 65,000 over the two-day event, and Saturday’s Cruise the Burg car show in Miamisburg saw a significant drop in participants.

Organizers of each event attributed the drops to the weather.

Temperatures that climbed into the 90s Saturday and Sunday combined with high humidity levels to create sweltering conditions.

On Sunday, medical personnel at the air show treated 65 people on site for heat-related distress and transported eight to hospitals, said Dr. Mark Gebhart, a Good Samaritan Hospital emergency room physician who volunteers as the air show’s chief medical officer.

That total was down sharply from Saturday, a hotter day when 140 were treated on site and 21 were taken to hospitals.

At the Cruise the Burg event in Miamisburg on Saturday, about 150 fewer cars than normal appeared, according to Dale Qualls, show chairman.

“This is a very fickle weather-related event,” Qualls said.

The Burg cruise-ins are held four times a summer and are sponsored by the Miamisburg Merchants Association.

Qualls did not have a specific number for attendance, but estimated that there were approximately 300 cars and approximately 2,500 people in attendance at Saturday’s cruise-in.

A normal cruise-in would draw between 450 to 500 cars, Qualls said.

The cruise-in held in June drew the best attendance that Qualls had seen in a long time. Approximately 550 cars were featured and 5,000 to 6,000 people attended, Qualls said.

The weather will likely be hot and humid again this weekend with highs near 90 and possible storms, according to WHIO-TV meteorologist Jamie Simpson.

The 2012 Vectren Dayton Air Show will take place two weeks earlier than usual in order to have the Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration team as its featured performer.

The show had requested a return by the Blue Angels, who last flew in Dayton in 2010, but was told the team would be available only the weekend of July 7-8 in 2012, said Brenda Kerfoot, general manager of the Dayton Air Show.

Air show officials decided to move the event up by two weeks, from its usual date on the third weekend of July, in order to be able to host the Blue Angels, she said.

“They only do 34 shows (a year),” Kerfoot said Sunday, as the 2011 air show was ending at Dayton International Airport. “There are probably 400 shows that want them.”

Military flight demonstration teams typically are big draws at air shows, including Dayton. This month, the National Aviation Hall of Fame gave the Blue Angels an award in recognition of the team’s 65 years as role models representing the Navy and Marine Corps.

The air show is an advertising forum for businesses, annually attracting aerospace companies including General Electric Co.’s aviation unit and Goodrich Corp., and local companies in other fields including Vectren Corp., Kroger Co., Steve R. Rauch Inc. and the Dayton Daily News.

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