ANN ARBOR — Thunder Over Michigan’s second year with a two-day format marked an explosive return to Willow Run Airport.
While Thunder Over Michigan has been a staple event for 24 years, this year was the second year, organizers made it into a two-day affair with more than 600 cars and many more visitors.
“Our event brings in tens of thousands of people and hundreds of performers across the country to this area,” said Thunder Over Michigan Marketing Manager Scott Buie. “It has become a staple in the community.”
Before the show’s start, visitors wandered around Willow Run Airport, which had become transformed with interactive World War II planes, food vendors, and children’s bouncy houses and slides.
Rows of cars filled lots as people tailgated to watch the restored World War II planes, such as the Supermarine Spitfire, before the Blue Angels took to the sky. Crowds enjoyed drinks and food while watching the daring pilots of the Blue Angels fly in breathtaking maneuvers.
Wendy Zielen, a Yankee Air Museum volunteer, explained the significance of the location, referring to the factory across from the Willow Run Airport that produced the B-24 bombers used to turn the tide of World War II.
“It’s important the youth understand and appreciate the history,” she said.