By Sam Borsato - @BorsatoSam on Twitter

Majority of acts confirmed for July air show

Mar 16, 2017 | 12:12 PM

LETHBRIDGE – Some big thrills are on the way for Lethbridge’s 25th annual international air show.
 
Marc Oullette, air show association vice president, confirmed that the bi-annual event will be two weeks earlier than it’s normally held, running from July 14 to 16. 
 
“Who would have thought all those years ago when we got involved in this thing — there’s still a couple of us that have been involved since day one — that here we are 25 shows later, and we’re still surviving,” Brent Botfield, past association president, said previously in an interview with Lethbridge News Now.
 
An extended version of the hugely successful twilight show will kick everything off that Friday night, with a pyrotechnics display and high powered jet burners.
 
Canada’s 150th birthday will be celebrated on Sunday, with demonstrations from the Canadian Air Forces Snowbirds, CF-18 and the US Golden Knights parachute team. Oullette says ticket prices will be reduced for this day only, making it a great opportunity to bring the entire family out.
 
“A lot of families, you have two, three teenagers… it gets a little expensive coming out to the air show. So, what we did was come up with a smaller show on Sunday… It’ll be about a third of the cost per person, and a family package that’s going to make it affordable for anybody to come out.”
 
In early February, Lethbridge County Council once again put its support behind the show. They’ve secured $4,000 for a water truck to control dust, as well as a fuel trailer. All restricted area access permits (RAAP) and landing fees will be waived, and the aerodrome — which is the air space surrounding the airport — lease was approved. All councillors agreed to attend the show, too.
 
Those who are planning on seeing this year’s show can also rest assured that it’s going to take a lot to stop it from going ahead.

“Mostly lightning would be the biggest thing, because you’ve got a whole bunch of people out in the middle of a field, so it’s just simply not safe.

“If it’s chilly or windy, we can still open the gates, we can still do as much show as we possibly can do,” Botfield added. “We leave it up to the pilot’s discretion. If they don’t feel safe to fly, we’re obviously not going to force them to fly.”
 
A free shuttle service will run every day to and from the Enmax Centre and Lethbridge Airport, in order to alleviate any parking concerns on the show grounds.
 
Ouellette says tickets should go on sale around May. A final talent line up will be released once all of the acts have been confirmed.