WATSONVILLE — If there were any doubts about how the community would respond to Watsonville’s first fireworks show in many years, those worries were quickly vanquished Tuesday night.
About an hour before the fireworks began, officials had to shut down the Watsonville Municipal Airport to vehicles, as the parking area had reached capacity.
Thousands came to see Fire in the Sky, a show that dwarfed the onslaught of unsanctioned sideshows that were popping up all throughout the night in surrounding neighborhoods.
Airport Manager Rayvon Williams said he knew the event would have a large turnout when people began showing up to the gates at 3:30 p.m., well before the 5 p.m. opening time, which “caught us unawares.”
“We were prepared, but we weren’t as prepared as we thought we were,” he said.
Overall, though, the event went smoothly, Williams said, adding that he was “very pleased” that he ran into a number of people who said they had never visited the airport before.
That was one of the main reasons for holding an open house, he noted, to get people, especially youth, interested in aviation and show them that it’s the community’s airport.
Fire in the Sky included formation flyovers, a screening of the film “Angry Birds,” and food trucks, all of which garnered long lines.
“When I saw those lines, I said, ‘this is bonkers, I can’t believe the number of people here,’” he said.
Williams estimated about 6,000 people attended the event, with 1,500 cars parked on one of the airport’s runways.
During the event, California Highway Patrol and Santa Cruz County Sheriff displayed their aircraft, as well as Calstar and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Airport tenants were also invited to display personal, flying club, trainers and corporate aircraft.
The event concluded with a more than 20-minute fireworks show.
Whether the event will return next year is still being worked out, as Williams said he and his staff are gathering feedback and attempting to figure out how the airport can scale the event in a limited space.
“The public seemed to like it,” he said. “But when you say next year, you’re setting yourself up for how can you do it bigger and better, and bigger and better is a challenge because of infrastructure.”
