Airplanes, Dancing And Fun This Weekend At Warbird Museum

This weekend is a big one for the Western Sky Warbird Aviation Museum, with vintage planes, veterans and costumes, plus a 1940s style hangar dance on tap.

Saturday night (May 20) features an evening of dancing, nostalgia and reverence for our military veterans as the Western Sky Warbird Aviation Museum hosts its 10^th annual 1940s Hangar Dance at 6 p.m. Funds raised from the dance go toward the museum, located at 4196 S. Airport Parkway in St. George.

“This has been such a great event for a decade now. I look forward to seeing people of all ages interact with each other on a fun night,” said Jack Hunter, Founder and Director of the Western Sky Aviation Warbirds Museum. “Even if you don’t dance, just sit back, listen to the music and soak in the atmosphere.”

There will be prizes for the best 1940s costumes, vintage aircraft on display and the Southern Utah Rebel Jazz Band will play hits from the stars of the World War II era. In addition, a local swing dance group will perform 1940s-style dances and conduct a ballroom dance lesson at 6:15 p.m. 

More than 16 million American soldiers, sailors and airmen served during World War II, the deadliest conflict in recorded history. Eighty years later, it’s easy to see how the events of the early 1940s proved pivotal for Allied forces. In the Pacific, American forces fought in locations with exotic names such as Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian and Leyte, tightening the noose on Japan. Meanwhile across the globe, the Allies assaulted Normandy, France, on what is known as D-Day, before its long slog to Germany’s doorstep.

Some of the same soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen fought in another conflict about a half dozen years later. Often referred to as “The Forgotten War” due to it being overshadowed by WWII and the Vietnam War, the Korean War involved 5.7 million American men and women during the conflict years of 1950 to 1953. There were 33,686 American combat deaths during the Korean War and more than 103,000 were wounded.

To show appreciation for these brave servicemen and servicewomen, the museum invites all WWII and Korean War veterans to attend the dance for free — and they may each bring one guest. The veterans will be recognized during a brief ceremony at the dance.

Tickets are $20 per person if purchased by May 19. Tickets can be bought at the museum Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or purchased online here.

If any remaining tickets are available on the day of the dance, the cost will be $25 per person. 

In addition to the Hangar Dance, the annual Armed Forces Celebration is set for May 19 and 20, where attendees can take ground tours of a C-54 and C-7, as well as vintage fighter jets and other military displays. There will be several food vendors and rides in a WWII T-6 Texan will be available for purchase. 

Friday’s festivities go from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Saturday, it will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For More Information, go to  www.westernskywarbirds.org