MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - From the sand to the sky, crowds of revelers flocked to South Beach as Memorial Day weekend festivities took flight — in one event’s case, literally.
Intense sun shone down on two women visiting from Florida’s west coast as they posed for 7News’ cameras. “We are from Tampa, Florida, and we’re enjoying the sun and fun,” one of them said.
“The water’s beautiful,” said a man out riding a bicycle.
Urban Beach Week is in motion, drawing tourists from across the country to Miami Beach.
Attendees of all ages were also enjoying a certain roar, Saturday. For the first time, the City of Miami Beach is hosting the Air and Sea Show on the holiday weekend.
A sweet 16 never looked so good. F-16 Falcon on #MiamiBeach @USASalute pic.twitter.com/mtjaX1M2Ol
— City of Miami Beach (@MiamiBeachNews) May 27, 2017
The high-flying spectacle offers a salute to the nation’s heroes. “Listen to those airplanes in the background,” said U.S. Air Force Gen. Steve Wilson. “What a fantastic venue to celebrate Memorial Day, to celebrate all the veterans who served our country, and at the same time showcase American air power.
Audience member Ethan Dezak was impressed with what he saw. “I saw some F-16s today, a lot of Coast Guard helicopters,” he said. “It was nice how they put on an act, the Coast Guard. I really enjoyed that.”
There’s a party in Fort Lauderdale as well. The so-called “Great American Beach Weekend” is in full effect. A1A will be closed and detoured in some areas along Fort Lauderdale Beach.
But back in Miami Beach, there are fewer events than planned. On Friday, the World OutGames canceled most of their events hours before the 10-day LGBT-themed fathering was scheduled to kick off.
City officials said they are doing everything they can to salvage the event they sponsored. On Saturday, they issued a press release stating they are working to restore some of the canceled competitions.
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Speaking with reporters on Saturday, Miami Beach City Manager Jimmy Morales said they will get to the bottom of the last-minute cancellation. “Whether it’s fraud or whether it’s mismanagement, we need to take a hard look at it,” he said. “They couldn’t pay their vendors. They couldn’t pay the producer of their shows. We are doing everything we can to try to resuscitate the athletics.”
But the OutGames are not the only game in town on a hot and popular weekend so many are already enjoying … like the Tampa visitors. “It’s feeling good. We’re overdressed, you know,” said one of the women. “I mean, we want to be hanging, too.”
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