For three days each Labor Day weekend, the quiet hills of Hollister, Missouri, tilt their faces skyward. The Branson Wings of Pride Air Show, presented by CoxHealth, returns to Branson Airport from September 5 through 7, 2026, and this year the celebration carries an extra weight of history: it unfolds during the 250th anniversary of the United States. Headlining the festivities will be the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, the diamond-formation jet team whose F-16 Fighting Falcons have become shorthand for American aerial precision.
The Wings of Pride Air Show is a young tradition. Its inaugural edition took flight in 2025, with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels making their first-ever appearance in Branson, headlining a lineup that also included the Air Force F-22 Raptor Demo Team and the Army's Golden Knights parachutists.
The man behind it all is Kerry Floyd, executive director of Wings of Pride Air Shows, the production company that runs the event.
The 2026 lineup is shaping up to be one of the strongest in the show's young history. Beyond the Thunderbirds, the U.S. Army Golden Knights — the world's premier military parachute demonstration team — will descend from altitudes of up to 12,500 feet, freefalling at more than 120 miles per hour before opening their canopies in choreographed formations. The U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III East Coast Demo Team will show off the "workhorse of the Air Force," a 174-foot-long transport that can taxi backward using thrust reversers. The legendary A-10 Thunderbolt II "Warthog," flying in from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, will bring its unmistakable 30mm cannon and low-altitude agility to the skies, with a second A-10 on static display for up-close inspection. A pyrotechnic "Wall of Fire," timed to the Warthog's flyover, promises one of the weekend's most visceral moments.
Civilian aerobatic talent will also be represented. Kirby Chambliss, a two-time Red Bull Air Race world champion and 13-time world medalist with the U.S. National Aerobatic Team, is scheduled to perform, as is Aarron Deliu, an accomplished aerobatic pilot. The full performer list remains subject to change, but the depth of talent already announced rivals shows in far larger markets.
For spectators, the practical details matter as much as the spectacle. Kids 5 and under are free in General Admission, and youth ages 6–17 receive discounted tickets. Premium seating options like the Gold Club and Silver Club are also available.
For Branson, a town that has built its identity on the pillars of faith, family, flag, and fun, the air show fits naturally. Mayor Larry Milton, speaking ahead of the inaugural event, called the Blue Angels' arrival a moment that "adds even more credibility" to those pillars. Now, with the Thunderbirds returning for America's 250th birthday, the show has become a centerpiece of the region's calendar — a once-in-a-generation celebration of freedom, flight, and pride, unfolding over a long weekend in the skies above the Ozarks.