Local News

La Crosse’s Deke Slayton Airfest called off again

Published

7 years ago

March 9, 2018

Brad Williams

For a fourth consecutive year, the Deke Slayton Airfest in La Crosse won’t happen.

The air show at the La Crosse Airport is only held during years when an elite flying team is available.

Tess Larsen with the Airfest told WIZM the organization could not line up either the Blue Angels or the Thunderbirds for 2018.

The Slayton event has been plagued by bad timing since it was last held in 2014.

The Thunderbirds had been announced for the 2015 but the festival was cancelled for two years because of major reconstruction on I-90.

Last year, the only weekend the fly team could come to La Crosse was the weekend of the WIAA State Track and Field Meet so, again, there was no Airfest.

The Blue Angels will be at the Eau Claire air show in June, while the Thunderbirds will head to Milwaukee in July.

Related Topics:air show deke slayton airfest

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.