WSET.com - ABC13Area Businesses Eager for Boost from Airshow, Friday Cheers

Reporter: Lauren Compton

Lynchburg, VA – This weekend everyone will have their eyes to the sky for the Lynchburg airshow, but that's not all that's kicking off in the Hill City this weekend.

Friday Cheers is holding their first concert of the season downtown Friday. And businesses in the Rivefront Park area are hoping to cash in.

Businesses say the energy and the hype around the airshow is going to boost sales and hopefully keep many coming back.

With the rockin tunes of Friday Cheers, businesses nearby can expect a flood of customers, but combined with a mega event like the Lynchburg Regional Airshow, it takes business into overdrive.

"It's an energy rush, and you just keep going," Robin Alexander owner Robin Diamond said.

The signs are out and the servers are on deck, awaiting the rush.

"As a server obviously that means more tables, more business, more money," Rachel Palma said.

They aren't the only ones on standby for a packed weekend.

"This is the calm before the storm," Guest Services Manager at the Craddock Terry Chris McSwain said Friday afternoon.

Like many hotels in the area, the Craddock Terry is booked solid for the weekend, but that doesn't stop the calls from coming in.

The high powered stunts taking over the sky for the airshow are drawing people from all over.

"We have a lot of people that are in from the region and throughout the state, and North Carolina for the Regional Airshow," McSwain said.

Businesses on Wards Road say the plane stunts have already started attracting customers.

"We had a little crowd yesterday sitting in here watching it from the window," manager at Vinny's Jimmy Vitale said.

Many say an action packed weekend like this will have lasting effects for the Hill City.

"We're showing this a great place not only to live, to do business and have a great time. We have a lot to offer in Lynchburg obviously," Diamond said.

That isn't all that's happening this weekend, there's also the VES graduation, and a few big sporting events so it's going to be very busy. The Chamber of Commerce says they are keeping any eye on all of the numbers, which they'll use for marketing.