Blue Angels Crew Member Visits Ahead of Onion Festival Air Show

Blue Angels Lieutenant Kaitlin Forester visited Vidalia on December 21 to complete a walkthrough of the local airport in preparation for the 2022 Vidalia Onion Festival Air Show. Forester also met with local military, EMS, and city officials for a briefing on what the Blue Angels Festival performance requires.

Forester was selected in July 2020 to join the Blue Angels Flight Crew, and will be flying her second full season with the Angels when she performs at the Vidalia Onion Festival in 2022. She flies Blue Angel #8 and serves as the team’s Events continued from page

Coordinator. She informed Vidalia officials that the Blue Angels’ attendance at the air show will feature new elements. “We have two new platforms that have never been to Vidalia, and we are very excited to show them off,” Forester boasted. “We have our new F-18 Super Hornets and our C-130J Super Hercules. We debuted them last year in the 2021 Season, but it will be the first time we bring them here to Vidalia, so we are very excited to showcase them here.” This trip to Vidalia also marks Forester’s first time in the Sweet Onion City, but she explained that the Vidalia Onion Festival has had an excellent reputation among fellow colleagues. “I have heard nothing but good things about the Onion Festival,” she said. “I have heard about people even going home with bags of onions in their suitcases. I’m definitely looking forward to it – the highlight of being on this team has been going to cities that I may have otherwise never even found out about and celebrating their unique festivals alongside them.”

The timing of this year’s festival also comes at a crucial time, as normalcy is returning for most citizens and performers. “We are so excited to be able to come out and continue to entertain and teach individuals about the Navy and Marine Corps message,” Forester emphasized. “It truly feels great to get back in the groove of normal festival seasons.”

She told attendees of the walkthrough that coming to small towns truly excited members of the Blue Angels Flight Team because of their desire to spread their message and teach the public about aviation. “We are willing to go everywhere, no matter how large or small,” she noted. “If you can accommodate our demonstration safely, we’re happy to come do what we love.”

During her visit, Forester conducted a briefing with all involved in the flight demonstration at this year’s air show to outline what will occur when the entire Blue Angel flight team returns in April. She completed a physical walkthrough of the airport to familiarize herself with the facility, and even stayed in the hotel which the team plans to be housed in during the 2022 Vidalia Onion Festival.

The 2022 Vidalia Onion Festival will be held April 21-24, 2022. The Air Show will occur on April 23-24. More information will become available as the event nears.