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By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

takeoff

Red Deer Regional Airport to host airshow along with championship air races

Dec 14, 2022 | 4:42 PM

A high-flying aviation event looks to be headed for Red Deer skies in summer 2023.

The inaugural Canadian International Air Racing Championships were announced earlier this year, to be held next July 7-9.

However, that event is being pushed back to July 29 and 30 to accomodate a visit by the Snowbirds (announced Dec 13), who will be part of a larger airshow to go along with the air racing championships.

Details for the show and overall event are still being planned, with more public information to come soon.

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“We were excited to be selected for the air racing championships, but now we’ll be moving forward with an airshow combined with the air race component,” says Nancy Paish, director of business development and communications, Red Deer Regional Airport.

“Airshows are very exciting and it’s been about a three-year process of working to get an airshow back into our community. This we feel is a great fit, and we are working with a group that develops airshows all across western Canada. With the air races as part of it, it will give our event a bit of a different dynamic.”

Both Red Deer County and The City of Red Deer have committed $50,000 to the event, though Paish says the municipalities are working with organizers to ensure the approved dollars are being used for what was intended. With the changing scope of the event, those talks are ongoing.

Paish notes organizers must go through strict regulations set out by Transport Canada when setting up these events, hence why details of what exactly the show will look like are still sparse.

But one thing is for sure: the Snowbirds will be the headliner.

“It’s very important to have an anchor performance or act, and they are such a great part of Canadian history,” says Paish. “People get excited about seeing the Snowbirds, and we want to make sure we have the attractions the community will want to see.”

According to a Springbrook-Waskasoo Life publication, the last Red Deer International Airshow was held in 2003. The first was staged in 1983, then held every year through 1995, and then held every second year until it ended.

The airshow and air races will take place at the Red Deer Regional Airport.