Covid-19 concerns cancel Jimmy Stewart Airshow in Indiana County

Indiana County officials have canceled the Jimmy Stewart Airshow, planned for June 6 and 7, because of coronavirus concerns.

The cancellation notice, posted late this week on the Indiana County Jimmy Stewart Airport website, indicates the show organizers “take the health and safety of our staff, volunteers, performers, vendors and patrons very seriously.”

Patrons who bought tickets for the third annual event will have the option of using them to attend next year’s show, scheduled for July 10-11, 2021. Those who prefer a refund are asked to contact airport manager Rick Fuellner, at 724-463-3883.

Earlier in April, when the show still was on, Fuellner was looking forward to a large attendance — particularly since officials at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, in neighboring Westmoreland County, were unable to book a major headliner and decided months earlier to skip plans for a 2020 show.

“We were looking for upwards of 10,000 people with this being the only air show in the area,” Fuellner said.

Mike Goulian Aerosports was to have been the featured attraction at the Indiana County show. Goulian, at 27, was one of the youngest pilots to win the United States Unlimited Aerobatic Championship.

Fuellner noted it would have been a “scheduling nightmare” to attempt to hold the show later this year, because of potential conflicts with other events performers and vendors planned to attend.

Past Jimmy Stewart shows have included helicopter rides, remote-controlled planes, a car cruise and World War II living historians. According to Fuellner, organizers decided to drop a hangar dance from the event because of poor attendance.