Editorial: Public events like airshow sell area

What is the point of throwing a large public event?

It might seem like just a party, but a lot more is going on when you are talking about a big-budget, big-crowd event spread over days.

It is advertising. It is marketing. It is economic development.

And, yes, it’s a way to foster community by encouraging a good time.

Take the Shop ’n Save Westmoreland Airshow.

The annual event at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity draws thousands eager to see precision maneuvers in the sky and amazing aircraft up close on the tarmac. Hundreds of volunteers work to pull it off.

So is it a great use of resources for the Westmoreland County Airport Authority? Does it foster more people to fly out of the small airport? Does it boost the airport’s coffers and take the burden off money provided from county government?

That’s hard to measure.

What is more concrete is that not everyone automatically thinks of the airport when making travel plans. But bringing people in to see the same planes they watched on the big screen in “Top Gun” movies streaking across the sky makes an impression, and that could prompt people to think about flying through Palmer instead of Pittsburgh.

But there are other impacts. Businesses benefit from overnight guests at hotels, those that cap the day with dinner at a local restaurant and those that indulge in a few drinks at an area bar. That’s apart from the vendors who set up booths at the event itself.

But an event that brings people back year after year does more than advertise the airport and the hospitality. It’s also a way to market the area itself.

Westmoreland County knows it needs to increase its flagging population. The 2020 census said so, but the strategic plan identified the need to pull in more people years before that.

Festivals, events, fairs and more are a way to show a community at its best. They highlight those picture-perfect days that sell the ideal. That is good for advertising a business or a locale. It boosts revenue and morale.

When it comes to the air show, it also feeds a good cause. After the event’s expenses are paid, proceeds go to the Westmoreland Food Bank.

Events like the air show are a high-flying way to hit a lot of targets at once.