O say, did you see? The annual Thunder Over Michigan Air Show will also serve as a birthday party this year.
The beloved annual summertime air show at Willow Run Airport in the Ypsilanti area will help mark the country’s 250th birthday and be headlined by the U.S. Air Force F-16 Viper Demo Team, organizers shared in a Thursday, Feb. 26, news release.
Tickets are already available for the 2026 Thunder Over Michigan: Stars, Stripes, and 250 Years Strong event scheduled for July 17-19.
Attendees can expect to see the Viper demo team with “a modern technological marvel both revered and feared across the globe” known as the F-16C Fighting Falcon, along with the U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey, the P-51 Jack Aces Demo Teams and more, according to organizers.
The nation’s birthday, referred to as America 250, will be the most significant in the lives of those born after the bicentennial and is a chance to come together and celebrate “all that is great about our nation,” said Ashley Myers, the director for the airshow, in a statement in the news release.
“There is something magical and uniquely patriotic about experiencing the indescribable power and precision of our military aircraft at an air show,” said Myers. “From our nation’s veterans, to families and kids, to longtime air show enthusiasts, we want everyone to help wish our nation a very happy birthday at Thunder Over Michigan: Stars, Stripes, and 250 Years Strong.”
Tickets can be purchased on the air show’s website, and packages include drive-up tailgate tickets and seating in luxury, catered tents. The event is a fundraiser for the Michigan Flight Museum.
Festivities are planned across the country in 2026 to mark the 250-year anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Thunder Over Michigan Air Show to mark America’s 250th birthday
Reporting by Darcie Moran, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
