COLD LAKE – By Friday roughly 17,000 tickets had already been sold to the 2022 Cold Lake Air Show, and organizers hope to nearly double that amount by the time the event wraps up on Sunday.
Cold Lake’s Air Show has taken place during the third week of July on a two-year cycle since 2014.
After a four-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Canadian Airforce is excited to show the public their aerial skills and aircraft once again.
“In 2018, we had just under 23,000 (attendees) for two days,” said Maj. Kael Rennie, the Air Show’s committee chair, in a media scrum on Friday.
“We have a bit of an ongoing contest amongst the committee members for what we think our tickets are going to be and I'm hoping we're going to double the population of Cold Lake. Cold Lake has roughly 15,000 people and I want to get us to 30,000.”
As large crowds flock to 4 Wing Cold Lake to take in the numerous outdoor attractions, there are weather-related considerations event goers should keep in mind.
“We definitely want people to bring sunscreen, hats, lots of water, and bring a refillable water bottle because we have these things called Water buffaloes,” said Rennie.
A water buffalo is a giant green canister on wheels that holds large volumes of potable water for people to refill their water containers for free. These large water tanks will be set up throughout the Air Show grounds.
For attendees' personal well-being, they are encouraged to stay hydrated.
“It's one of those things of an Air Show. You’re out in the grass area unless you have the fortune of being in the VIP tents - otherwise you are going to have lots of sun.”
Attractions that will take place indoors in hangers include the Kids’ Zone and the Classic Car Show.
No pop-up tents allowed
Because shade will be hard to come by on event grounds, people are asked to prepare accordingly. However, those preparations cannot include large parasols or pop-up tents.
“Personal umbrellas and lawn chairs are welcome but large parasols and pop-up tents are not permitted,” noted Rennie.
“Unfortunately, those umbrellas become a flight risk and not only a hazard to the crowd, as they can fly away and hit someone, but if they get onto the airfield, they can cause damage obviously to the aircraft.”
Cold Lake Air Show | July 16 & 17 2022
All funds generated from the Cold Lake Airshow goes towards the Base Fund, which is used to enhance the morale and welfare of the military members and their families.
For full coverage of the 2022 Cold Lake Air Show see Lakeland This Week’s July 19 edition.
