View of Lake Erie from Edgewater Pier, Edgewater Park, Cleveland
View of Lake Erie from Edgewater Pier, Edgewater Park, Cleveland

The annual Cleveland National Air Show will be back on the shores of Lake Erie this Labor Day weekend, Aug. 30-Sept. 2.

Every year since 1964, thousands of Greater Cleveland residents and aerospace fans have flocked to Burke Lakefront Airport to watch flight teams,  like the U.S. Navy’s iconic Blue Angels, parachuters, life flight helicopters and more soar through the sky.

Not an air-travel aficionado? That’s OK too. There are plenty of other things to do in Cleveland during Labor Day weekend.

The Cleveland National Air Show

Spectators are invited to the Burke Lakefront Airport in downtown Cleveland to get an up-close and personal look at machinery on the ground and flying through the air.

General admission ticket are $40 per adult, $20 per child aged six-11 and free for kids five and younger. No seating is offered for these tickets, and spectators are encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs. Prices for other seating options, such as box seating or corporate loges, can be found here. On-site parking must be purchased in advance and costs $35 per vehicle. 

Access to the air show grounds includes attractions and demonstrations such as aircraft tours, meet and greets with military service personnel, search and rescue by the U.S. Coast Guard and crafts and activities specifically for children under the age of 8.

Spectators can also head next door to the Great Lakes Science Center for an air show viewing party throughout the weekend to save a few bucks. Tickets for this event start at $25.

If you just want to see the planes flying and don’t care about the “On the Ground” events, luckily you can look up to the sky and enjoy the show from many different places around Cleveland for free, including: 

  • Parking lots and garages: The muni lot has a good view, but we suggest going to the top floor of a downtown multilevel parking garage to get some height.
  • Local parks and beaches: Voinovich Bicentennial Park is largely considered the best public space to catch the show — it’s practically at the end of the airport runway. But this space fills up fast. Other options include Wendy Park, Upper Edgewater Park and even the Solstice Steps at Lakewood Park.
  • Lake View Cemetery: President Garfield’s memorial in Cleveland Heights has an upper terrace with an impressive view of downtown Cleveland. 

For Clevelanders willing to spend some money on the show, many Cleveland National Air show aficionados say the best place to watch the show is from Lake Erie. Charter boat options during the show include: 

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Other Labor Day weekend events

If you view the air show with a “been there, done that” attitude, there are other affordable and free things going on Labor Day weekend in Northeast Ohio. A few highlights: 

Camille was the inaugural audience manager at Signal Cleveland until October, 2024. Using simple social media posts, videos and newsletters, she worked to break complicated news stories into bite-sized chunks that invite Clevelanders to learn more from our reporters’ full stories.