NaCzarter Team
The 12th Family Air Picnic in Gryźliny (Rodzinny Piknik Lotniczy) runs 4–5 July 2026, Saturday and Sunday, on the grass airfield at Gryźliny near Olsztynek. Gates open at 12:00 on Saturday and stay open until 22:00 — the evening belongs to a night display block that ends with fireworks — while Sunday runs 10:00 to 17:00. The confirmed line-up includes Jurgis Kairys flying aerobatics after dark, a Bölkow BO-105 and a UH-1D "Huey" helicopter, a three-ship formation of PZL-101 Gawrons and a water-bomb drop from a Dromader firefighting plane. Entry is ticketed by the organisers, with sales through tobilet.pl.
It's a show with real scale, yet still run like a neighbourhood affair: the organisers are Olsztyn County, the municipality of Stawiguda and Fotowoltaika Gryźliny, the company that operates the airfield. The picnic has been held since 2008 (with a break — it was revived in 2022), and in 2024 around 30,000 people turned up on the grass outside Olsztynek.
Date, hours, venue — the essentials
- When: Saturday–Sunday, 4–5 July 2026
- Hours: Saturday 12:00–22:00 (night displays!), Sunday 10:00–17:00
- Where: Gryźliny airfield (ICAO code EPGR) near the village of Gryźliny, Stawiguda municipality, Olsztyn County — about 7 km from Olsztynek and 25 km from Olsztyn
- Entry: ticketed, official sales via tobilet.pl
What's flying? The 2026 display programme
The line-up tends to get tweaked right up until the final days, so we're sticking to what the organisers have announced officially. The strip itself is what sets this event apart: grass, roughly 800 by 60 metres, everything on a human scale — you watch the displays from close up, not from behind a kilometre of fencing like at the big airports.
- Aerobatics — Robert Kowalik, Jacek Mainka and Norbert Kasperek among others, plus a separate display flown by female pilots
- Helicopters — a Bölkow BO-105 and the legendary UH-1D "Huey", whose distinctive rotor thump is instantly familiar to anyone who has seen a single Vietnam film
- A three-ship formation of PZL-101 Gawrons — Polish classics in tight formation
- Vintage and ultralight aircraft — from aviation's past to its lightest present
- A water-bomb drop from a Dromader — a firefighting aircraft shown doing its actual job
- Parachute jumps
The night block and fireworks — Saturday only
Saturday evening is the main reason to stay until 22:00. After dark, Jurgis Kairys takes off — the Lithuanian aerobatics master for whom night flying is a speciality. Fireworks close the show. If you're only coming for one day and a late drive home doesn't put you off, Saturday is the day to pick.
On the ground: inside an Antonov, military displays, bouncy castles
The gaps between flights fill themselves. You can climb inside an Antonov and look around the cabin, wander the static display and the military zone, and kids get their own area with bouncy castles plus a funfair (that one charged separately). There are food trucks, craft breweries and handicraft stalls for the hungry. The organisers have also announced a blood donation drive, so you can do something more useful than craning your neck all day.
For anyone after a stronger dose, there are paid helicopter sightseeing flights and tandem parachute jumps. And if you're building a family itinerary for the whole holiday in the region, have a look at our guide to Masuria with kids — the picnic slots into it neatly.
Tickets: what entry costs and where to buy
Entry to the picnic is ticketed — sales are handled by the organiser through tobilet.pl and via the official event website. According to the announcements, tickets start at a few dozen złoty: as a guide, Saturday costs around 60 PLN for an adult, 10 PLN for a child aged 6–18 and 100 PLN for a family ticket; Sunday is cheaper, and a two-day family pass runs about 150 PLN. Add parking at roughly 10 PLN per day. Check current prices and availability on tobilet.pl before you buy — the pricing belongs to the organiser and can change.
Gryźliny Air Picnic on Facebook →
The fan page is the most reliable source for programme changes — the organisers post line-up updates and practical information there right up to the day of the event.
Getting there and parking
Gryźliny sits on the road between Olsztynek and Olsztyn: about 7 km from Olsztynek, about 25 km from Olsztyn — half an hour by car. Parking at the airfield is paid (around 10 PLN per day), and on Saturday afternoon it pays to arrive early; the 30,000 visitors of the 2024 edition give you an idea of the scale. Coming from the Great Masurian Lakes, plan for a longer drive: roughly 105 km from Mikołajki, about 126 km from Giżycko, which means 1.5–2 hours each way. Perfectly doable as a day trip — just worth leaving first thing in the morning.
An airfield with a dark history
The grass strip at Gryźliny didn't appear out of nowhere. The airfield was built from 1938 as the German Fliegerhorst Grieslienen — and it was from here, on 1 September 1939, that Luftwaffe aircraft took off to bomb Wieluń and Warsaw, among other targets. In 1941–42 the base ran a "blind flying" school, training pilots to fly on instruments alone, with no outside visibility. After the war the site stayed in military hands until 1952. Today families spread blankets on that same grass and look up at the sky for an entirely different reason. If the region's history draws you in, our piece on the Wolf's Lair at Gierłoż lands in similar territory.
Gryźliny and the area — what to add to the plan
A quick note on the map: Gryźliny lies in the Olsztyn Lakeland, which is Warmia — not the Great Masurian Lakes. Water is hardly in short supply, though. Three kilometres from the airfield is Lake Pluszne, with class I water purity — after a hot day at the picnic, a swim needs no persuading. The Stawiguda municipality also has lakes Łańskie and Wulpińskie. If you're spending July in Masuria, treat the picnic as a land-based interlude in a water-based plan — and build the rest of the month around our calendar of Masurian festivals and events for 2026. Later in the summer the region has another celebration coming up — Mikołajki Town Days.
Frequently asked questions
When and where does the Gryźliny Air Picnic take place in 2026? The 12th Family Air Picnic runs 4–5 July 2026 at Gryźliny airfield (EPGR) in the Stawiguda municipality, about 7 km from Olsztynek and 25 km from Olsztyn. Saturday from 12:00 to 22:00, Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00.
How much does entry cost and where do I buy tickets? Entry is ticketed by the organiser. According to the announcements, tickets start at a few dozen złoty (as a guide: Saturday about 60 PLN for adults, 10 PLN for children aged 6–18, 100 PLN for a family ticket; a two-day family pass around 150 PLN). Sales run through tobilet.pl and the official event website — check there for current prices.
What's in the programme — will there be night displays and fireworks? Yes, a night display block is announced for Saturday (featuring Jurgis Kairys, among others), finishing with fireworks. During the day expect aerobatics, the Bölkow BO-105 and UH-1D "Huey" helicopters, a three-ship formation of Gawrons, a water-bomb drop from a Dromader and parachute jumps.
Is the Gryźliny picnic good for children? Yes — it's a family event by design. Kids get a zone with bouncy castles, a funfair (paid), a walk-through Antonov and the military display area, and tickets for children aged 6–18 are, per the announcements, close to symbolic.
How do I get to Gryźliny and where do I park? Easiest by car: about 25 km from Olsztyn (half an hour), about 7 km from Olsztynek. There's paid parking at the airfield (around 10 PLN per day). From Mikołajki or Giżycko, allow 1.5–2 hours each way.
If the Gryźliny picnic falls in the middle of your holiday in the region, treat it as your day on land within a bigger plan: Warmia and Masuria combine best exactly this way — some sky, some water. Spend the rest of the week on deck; you'll find a boat on the Great Masurian Lakes through our Masuria yacht charter search. Gawron engines on Saturday, water lapping at the hull on Monday — the two go together just fine.
Photo: Łukasz Golowanow, Maciej Hypś / Konflikty.pl (Wikimedia Commons)
