ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
In October 2025, the Liberal community will welcome back the AirFair, and plans are already under way for the event.
Those plans include fundraising, and Nov. 9 at the Mid-America Air Museum, the Liberal AirFair Committee will have a fundraiser for the upcoming show.
The fundraiser is a Texas Hold Em Poker Tournament, and organizer Jennifer Lyddon said in order to keep the AirFair free for the community just as it has been in the past, it was necessary to begin raising money immediately.
“A lot of times, you have to book the acts ahead of time,” she said. “There’s ICAS, which is the International Council of Air Shows, in December. We need to get ahead of those acts. That’s where all the good acts book up.”
Lyddon said many times, deposits have to be made in order to book an act, and having fundraisers such as the upcoming poker tournament helps with those costs.
There is a $25 suggested donation to participate in the tournament, and there will be door prizes and a 50/50 drawing throughout the evening.
Lyddon said thus far, plans for the 2025 AirFair are coming along well.
“We’ve got Matt Younkin booked for sure,” she said. “We’re looking at a couple of other acts. We’re trying to go ahead and get another truck like Shock Wave. It won’t be that, but it’ll be an act similar to that.”
The upcoming AirFair will likewise have a night show, as well as a beer garden and entertainment in the evening. The event itself is scheduled for Oct. 4, 2025, and Lyddon said the committee is looking at a few other fundraisers before that date as well.
Table sponsorships for the Texas Hold Em tournament are available for $100.
“That gets your name on all the publicity we do for the fundraiser and on the table before everybody starts playing,” Lyddon said. “We’re also looking for any donations for door prizes, poker prizes. Anything anybody wants and is willing to donate, we’ll take.”
To sponsor a table, call Lyddon at 620-629-7076, and for AirFair sponsorships, call Bill or Jennifer Lyddon or Blake Crawford.
“For $10,000, you can sponsor a whole act,” she said. “There’s different levels of sponsorships, but something new we’re going to do this year is we’re going to have a VIP section for certain levels of sponsorships. We’ll have chairs and a cooler provided for them. They’re really good seats where they’re front and center for the show.”
This is the first time the AirFair committee has tried a poker tournament as a fundraiser, and Lyddon said sponsorship letters were just recently sent out.
“We’ve raised more than $5,000 so far,” she said. “To make it free for the community like it’s been in the past where there’s no charge for admission, we need to raise between $80,000 and $100,000. We’re still a long way from that, but we’re very hopeful we can get it done. I think everybody in the community’s excited about having an air show. We haven’t had one since 2018.”
The 2025 AirFair will also have a kids zone with bounce houses and trampolines, and Lyddon said this is just one of the expenses the committee needs to take care of in order to keep entry free of charge to the show.
“There will be helicopter rides, but that is separate,” she said. “People do have to pay for those. We’re going to try to get the cannon skydiving again. We’re also working with the food truck people who do the Food Truck Saturdays. Hopefully, we’re going to be able to coordinate with them and have them come in and get as many food trucks out there as possible.”
For those who lose all of their chips, Lyddon said for a second $25 donation, they can re-enter the tournament.
“Later in the evening, we’ll do a second chance tournament for anybody who’s interested,” she said. “We’ll have a cash bar. It should be a lot of fun.”
Lyddon said those who take part in the tournament will be helping a good cause.
“Even if you haven’t played poker before, everybody’s friendly and nice,” she said. “We’ll show you how to play. It should be a really good time.”
The public is also invited to come watch the tournament, which begins at 5 p.m. Nov. 9 at MAAM, with registration starting at 4 p.m.
“If you want to make sure you can play, I would suggest coming out early,” Lyddon said. “You can leave and come back, or you can stay. Play will start around 5 p.m. and people can register at the door at 4 p.m. It’s just a $25 suggested donation.”
For more information, call Lyddon at 620-629-7076, and she said participants can donate more than the $25 suggested amount if they so choose.
“”If they want to play for free, they can,” she said. “It’s just for fun. We’re just trying to raise as much money as we can to have a good air show in 2025.”
Lyddon is excited for the upcoming fundraiser.
“It’s a lot of work, but I think it’s worth it,” she said.
