Andrea McKenna • October 20, 2026
Showboss Productions Brings the Sky to the 60th Annual Borrego Days
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13th year of festival flyovers features T-34 Mentor aircraft soaring over Borrego Springs
Before the first parade entry rolled down Palm Canyon Drive on Saturday, October 17, the crowd along the route was already looking up. The 60th Annual Borrego Days Desert Festival opened with the familiar rumble of aircraft overhead as a formation flyover swept across the desert valley.
The flyover was organized by Showboss Productions, a San Diego-based aviation event company led by Christopher “Oz” Van Stelle, who shared that this year's performance marked approximately 13 years of flying for Borrego Days.
The aircraft featured in this year's flyover were T-34 Mentors, military training aircraft originally developed in the late 1940s and used to train generations of U.S. military pilots.
For Van Stelle and his team, returning to Borrego Springs has become a cherished tradition.
"It was a pleasure to fly over Borrego Days again!" Van Stelle said. "As for the experience, it's always a highlight for us. We flew T-34 Mentors and there's no better backdrop for these aircraft than the desert landscape. This was our 13th year, I believe, flying for Borrego Days and the community support has always been overwhelming. We are fortunate and blessed."
Showboss Productions specializes in precision aviation events, including formation flyovers, aerial demonstrations, drone light shows, helicopter VIP arrivals and air show production. The company coordinates flight formations, pilots, regulatory approvals and timing to deliver aircraft overhead at precisely the right moment.
Its work has included flyovers for the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, San Diego FC and San Diego Wave FC at Snapdragon Stadium, the USS Midway Museum, and LEGOLAND California. Other events have included Fourth of July celebrations, community parades and air shows across the country.
Showboss also performs Missing Man formations to honor veterans and others during memorial ceremonies, including tributes at Fort Rosecrans, Miramar and Riverside National Cemeteries.
Depending on the event, Showboss formations feature everything from vintage military aircraft and civilian aerobatic planes to former military jets.
For Borrego Days, the flyover is a natural fit for a community with a longstanding connection to aviation and the surrounding desert landscape. The two-day festival, hosted by the Borrego Springs Chamber of Commerce at Christmas Circle Community Park, celebrated its 60th year with the Saturday parade, Shine & Show vehicle show, live music, children's activities, food vendors and community booths.
And for the pilots who have returned year after year, the enthusiasm from Borrego Springs residents remains one of the highlights of the experience.
Learn more about Showboss Productions at showbossproductions.com.
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