Hampton Beach Seafood Festival teams up with Thunder Over NH to bring air show to beach

Angeljean Chiaramida
·4 min read

HAMPTON — Fans of Hampton Beach’s Seafood Festival will get the extra treat of a mini air show this year, thanks to a partnership with the Thunder Over New Hampshire Air Show. Both events will be held on the second weekend of September.

According to Hampton Area Chamber President John Nyhan, the cooperation between the events attended by tens of thousands of people came as a result of an effort to complement each other, instead of competing with each other. In 2021, during the last air show at Pease, the chamber supplied Seafood Festival guest passes to the air show participants, but this year things are going quite a bit further.

Rob Holland at the controls of his MXS-RH, a single seat aircraft built specifically for the kind of aerobatic flying that he will do as part of the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival.
Rob Holland at the controls of his MXS-RH, a single seat aircraft built specifically for the kind of aerobatic flying that he will do as part of the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival.

While the Seafood Festival runs from Sept. 8-10 at Hampton Beach, the Air Show is set for Sept. 9 and 10 at the New Hampshire Air National Guard Base at Pease in Portsmouth, home of the 157th Air Refueling Wing and a fleet of KC-46A Pegasus tankers.

Those who attend the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, September 9-10, will see a “mini air show,” Nyhan said, highlighting Rob Holland, world-renowned for his flying aerobatics, and one of the performers from the air show at Pease.

A Nashua resident who fell in love with aviation and graduated with a degree from Daniel Webster College, Holland was named an honorary “Blue Angel,” and is the winner of dozens of worldwide and American aerobatic championships, including the Eric Muller Trophy World Aerobatics Championship in 2019.

“He is absolutely the best in the business,” said Air Force Capt. Jacob Ricciotti, a pilot and the operations director for Thunder Over New Hampshire Air Show. “When we go to air shows, the Blue Angels go over to him to shake his hand.”

Nyhan said organizers of the Seafood Festival and the air show at Pease have also agreed to promote both events.

How the air show got extended to Hampton Beach

Getting permission to execute the flying exhibition over Hampton Beach took some time, according to Nyhan.

The Hampton Beach Seafood Festival takes place from Sept. 8-10, 2023.
The Hampton Beach Seafood Festival takes place from Sept. 8-10, 2023.

The chamber, he said, had to gain permission from the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as the cooperation of the Coast Guard and Hampton’s harbor master, among others.

According to Ricciotti, the FAA, which controls the nation’s air space, ensures air shows maintain a high level of safety. Requirements include designating an “air box” over the ocean off Hampton Beach, Nyhan said, where the performance will take place.

“That air space has to be sterile,” Nyhan said. “There can’t be any other planes flying or any boats, or even kites, during the show. We had really great cooperation from the FAA.”

In return for such a special performance, Nyhan said the chamber will again give Seafood Festival guest passes to the air show’s participants and will also fulfill another universal desire of the performers.

“I was told the one thing they all want is to see Fenway Park,” Nyhan said.

The U.S. Air Force F-16 Viper Demo Team is scheduled to fly at the Thunder Over New Hampshire Air Show Sept. 9-10, 2023.
The U.S. Air Force F-16 Viper Demo Team is scheduled to fly at the Thunder Over New Hampshire Air Show Sept. 9-10, 2023.

So, Nyhan made a call to the Red Sox, who play in the legendary, century-old baseball stadium, and he hit a home run. He learned the Red Sox would be playing their archrivals, the New York Yankees following that weekend and was able to get some tickets.

“I got a group of tickets for the Monday following the air show,” he said. “And they’ll be able to go on the field during batting practice.”

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Hampton Beach Seafood Festival 2023 details

The Seafood Festival features 50 food vendors, 70-plus arts and craft vendors, culinary demonstrations and continuous entertainment on two stages.

Returning events include the Hampton Beach Pop-up Art Show on Friday, Sept. 8, the Bags on the Beach Cornhole Tournament and fireworks on Saturday, Sept. 9, and the 5K road race and Lobster Roll Eating Contest on Sept. 10.

Culinary demonstrations hosted by Wicked Bites from Boston and WRKO will take place on Saturday and Sunday at the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival.
Culinary demonstrations hosted by Wicked Bites from Boston and WRKO will take place on Saturday and Sunday at the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival.

Admission is $10 each day, or $30 for all three days.

2023 Thunder Over NH Air Show: Here's how to get parking passes, premium seats

Thunder Over New Hampshire Air Show

The air show’s military headliners over the two days include performances by the Air Force F-16 Viper Demo Team, as well as pilots from the Massachusetts and Vermont Air National Guards and the Air Force C-17 Globemaster Demo aircraft and the New Hampshire Army Guard UH-60 Blackhawk.

The Massachusetts Air National Guard F-15 Eagles are scheduled to fly at the Thunder Over New Hampshire Air Show Sept. 9-10, 2023.
The Massachusetts Air National Guard F-15 Eagles are scheduled to fly at the Thunder Over New Hampshire Air Show Sept. 9-10, 2023.

Thunder Over New Hampshire also features the U.S. Special Operations Command Para Commandos, an aerial parachute demonstration team. Plus, along with Holland, aerobatic performer Kent Pietsch will take to the sky. Sponsored by Jelly Belly, he comes equipped with bags of jelly beans for the crowd.

Information: thunderovernewhampshire.com and seafoodfestivalnh.com

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Hampton Beach air show: Seafood Festival, Thunder over NH to team up