LOOK UP! The Chippewa Valley Air Show organizers announced they were not chosen to host demo teams in 2023 or 2024, but are hopeful for the 2025 season. (Photos from the 2022 air show.)

The Chippewa Valley Air Show is a favorite for locals and not-so-locals, with some folks making a several-hour drive for the event. However, these fans will have to wait a few years before they see another air show in Eau Claire.

The Chippewa Valley Air Show Facebook page announced June 13 that another airshow won’t be held until at least 2025. While it is not uncommon to go several years without a show, the Valley has been lucky to see more consistent air shows over the last few years.

“Since we last hosted a show in 2022, we applied for a 2024 show but unfortunately weren’t selected,” CVAS Director Tina Olson said. “We’ve had shows in 2002, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2018, a canceled 2020 show, and most recently in 2022, so you can see it doesn’t run on a regular cycle.”

”

IT TYPICALLY TAKES WELL OVER A YEAR TO PLAN AN AIR SHOW,

and the CVAS committee is primarily driven through volunteer efforts, so we try not to overlap air show planning. This means we only have the opportunity to host an air show every two years.

TINA OLSON

CVAS DIRECTOR

U.S. military jet demonstration teams – such as the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and the Air Force Thunderbirds – set their schedules two years in advance, which partially explains the odd gaps between air shows in Eau Claire.

“It typically takes well over a year to plan an air show, and the CVAS committee is primarily driven through volunteer efforts, so we try not to overlap air show planning,” Olson explained. “This means we only have the opportunity to host an air show every two years.”

In the same June 13 post, air show organizers shared they are in the process of applying to host a jet demo team for the 2025 season and will find out in December during the International Council of Air Shows Convention if they have been selected. If they are, the air show will welcome back the Blue Angels or the Thunderbirds.

Factors in the selection process include when an applicant last hosted a show, show attendance and reach, how well the shows have been organized in the past, and past performers’ experiences and feedback, Olson explained.

The 2022 CVAS welcomed attendees from more than 30 states as well as international visitors, including folks from Canada, Australia, and Europe. More than 60 local charitable organizations are also supported through the event.

CVAS is organized by the Chippewa Valley Council, Boy Scouts of America. While it may seem to be a natural partnership, considering that scouts gains tremendous on-site experience and community exposure from their involvement, CVAS was actually the first air show to partner with a local Boy Scout council, Olson said. The CVAS team is proud of the show’s impact on the community as a whole, but also specifically to around 2,500 youths throughout Northwestern Wisconsin.

“Producing an event of this size with so many moving pieces is incredibly challenging, but the experience it gives to so many local youths, families, and community members makes it worth the nearly two years of planning it takes to produce each Chippewa Valley Air Show,” Olson said. “We’re grateful for the partnerships and sponsorships we receive leading up to each air show and truly wouldn’t be able to have the impact we have on the Chippewa Valley without it.”

Keep up with the Chippewa Valley Air Show's Facebook to see updates on its 2025 season application status. Learn more about the organization on its website.