It's Curious City, where we take your questions about Chicago and the region,

and investigate, report, explore, from WBEEZ.

If it's August at Chicago's North Avenue Beach, this sound can mean only one thing.

Yep, Chicago's two-day air and water show along the lake.

The event attracts more than a million attendees a year,

but also skepticism from folks like question-asker Mike.

Mike didn't want to share his last name.

But he did want to know just how much all this

hoopla cost Chicago taxpayers, whether they go to the show or not. The short answer is about

$210,000. But here's the thing about that cost. The tab has jumped wildly over the last 60 years.

In fact, one time the city almost canceled the show because it was losing like three quarters of a million bucks.

And that is a far cry from its launch in 1959, when it was, let's say, a more modest affair.

They had rowing contests and watermelon eating contest.

This is Jerry Souter, who wrote a history of the show with his wife, Janet.

The greased pole, the kids could climb. The Coast Guard did an air sea rescue demonstration with a

budget of $88. Yep, just $88. But by 1993, the air and water show had ballooned and was bleeding

money to the tune of $750,000.

Mayor Richard M. Daly was hopping mad.

Here's former staffer Jim Skinny Sheehan.

Basically, I was called down to the mayor's office.

The mayor said, we're going to get rid of the air and water show because it's losing money.

That was under the direction of the park district.

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