St. Thomas AirFest 2021 (Aerial Parade Only)

[Nick]

St. Thomas AirFest
Aerial Parade on April 10, 2021 May 15, 2021
June 25-27, 2021 Full airshow postponed to June 2022
St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada
Website (Coming Soon)

Featuring
Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association (Havards x 3)
Waterloo Warbirds DH-115 Vampire
Beechcraft D18S Expeditor "Canadian Queen"
RCAF CC-130H Hercules

[Bretten Bailey]

Featuring
Royal Canadian CF-18 Hornet Demonstration Team
Canadian Harvard Aerobatic Team
Waterloo Warbirds [TBA]

Name is now "AirFest".
In addition, Canadian Harvard Aerobatic Team is no longer performing air shows.
The CF-18 schedule will come out in December for 2021.

[Nick]

Featuring
Royal Canadian CF-18 Hornet Demonstration Team
Canadian Harvard Aerobatic Team
Waterloo Warbirds [TBA]

Name is now "AirFest".
In addition, Canadian Harvard Aerobatic Team is no longer performing air shows.
The CF-18 schedule will come out in December for 2021.

Thanks for the information.

[RyanS]

This event will be a an aerial parade in 2021, with the regular show pushed back to 2022.

ST. THOMAS AIRFEST TO HONOUR ESSENTIAL WORKERS WITH AIR PARADE

ST. THOMAS, ON – This past year has presented us with many challenges, but the strength and resilience of our community has helped us all work together to face the unique challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To recognize those who have been on the front lines since the beginning of the pandemic, the board of directors of St. Thomas Air Fest are pleased to announce ‘The AirFest Salute to All Essential Workers’. The air parade will take over the skies of St. Thomas on April 10th, 2020. More details on aircraft that will be participating to be announced in the weeks to come. Information will also be available in the coming days on our website www.airfest.ca.

While we are dedicating this event to all essential workers, we want to make it clear that we are putting it on for the entire community to enjoy. We recognize everyone has had to make sacrifices over the past year, and this event is our small part of giving back and saying “thank you”. We would also like to stress that this parade is meant to be viewed from the comforts of your own home. There will be no event at the airport for this parade. Head out to your front or backyard and let the planes put on a show for you!

With this good news, comes the tougher news of this year’s scheduled AirFest event. Out of an abundance of caution for our volunteers, members, and visitors, the organizing committee of AirFest 2021 regrettably will postpone the upcoming June 25-27, 2021 airshow & festival. The cancellation comes at the guidance of federal, provincial and local health officials who are looking to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

We extend our sincere appreciation to all of our partners who have expressed their commitment to continue to support our show and will be with us next June 24-26, 2022. Plans are already underway for AirFest 2022 - we have confirmed our Friday Night Gala keynote speaker, Brian Shul, and have received commitments from most of our performers to join us next June.

Tickets that have already been purchased or issued for the event will be honored for the scheduled date of June 24-26, 2022.
Thank you for your understanding and support through these difficult times.

We hope everyone will look to the skies on April 10, 2021 for ‘The AirFest Salute to All Essential Workers’.

[Dan Gagnon]

The Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association will have 3 Harvards participating in the aerial parade.

ANNOUNCEMENT - Three Harvards from the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association will ROAR over the skies of St. Thomas on Saturday, April 10th for our AirFest Salute to ALL Essential Workers!

Waterloo Warbirds' DH-115 Vampire will be participating in the aerial parade.

ANNOUNCEMENT - Hear the distinct sound of the DE HAVILLAND DH-115 'VAMPIRE' over St. Thomas during the Air Fest Salute to All Essential Workers on Saturday, April 10th! You may remember the Vampire from our show in 2018... Certainly a crowd favourite! This jet is coming to St. Thomas courtesy of our friends at the Waterloo Warbirds!

[Dan Gagnon]

The "Canadian Queen" Beechcraft D18S Expeditor has been added to the aerial parade.

ANNOUNCEMENT - The 'Canadian Queen' Beechcraft D18S Expeditor will take to the skies over St. Thomas on April 10th for our 'Air Fest Salute to ALL Essential Workers'!

[Dan Gagnon]

RCAF CC-130H Hercules will be taking part in the aerial parade.

ANNOUNCEMENT - Bring on the SIZE and the NOISE!! We're pleased to announce that the Royal Canadian Air Force will be sending a CC-130H Hercules to St. Thomas for our Air Fest Salute to All Essential Workers this Saturday, April 10th!

[Dan Gagnon]

St. Thomas Air Fest aerial parade has been postponed until May 15th.

ANNOUNCEMENT - POSTPONEMENT OF SALUTE TO ALL ESSENTIAL WORKERS

Following the announcement of the provincial stay-at-home order, the board of directors met immediately to discuss the safety aspects of the salute, which was scheduled for this Saturday (April 10). For the health and safety of our pilots, volunteers and the general public, we have decided to postpone our event until Saturday, May 15, 2021.

While we remain confident that the ‘salute’ is a safe event for all involved, it would be a disservice to the essential workers that we are honouring if we were to proceed with the event during a stay-at-home order. We are at a critical moment of the pandemic. There is a record number of ICU cases across the province and cases continue to rise. In postponing this event until after the end of the stay-at-home order we are not only encouraging everyone to remain safe, but also supporting the efforts of all our essential workers.

This was not an easy decision to make, especially knowing how much our communities have had to endure since the beginning of this pandemic. While the Salute is a safe and inspiring event that we could have done, the Board looked at the more difficult question as to whether we should have the event. We have chosen to stand with our workers, to promote safe practices while working to put on an outstanding event on the 15th of May once the lock down is lifted

The following acts are still confirmed to take part on May 15th:

- Banner Pull (will be towing a banner behind with a special message to essential workers) – Flight Line Charters

- RCAF CC-130H Hercules

- Harvards – Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association

- de Havilland Vampire - Waterloo Warbirds

- Aero L-29 "Viper" Delfin Jet - Waterloo Warbirds

- Mixed personal aircraft – COPA St. Thomas

- Boeing-Stearman – Dave Hewitt

- Beechcraft Model 18, Canadian Queen Expeditor – Dave Hewitt

- Robinson R44 and Bell JetRanger Helicopters – Zimmer Air

We will have more announcements over the next month as we continue to build on this community event.

Over the past two weeks, we have asked residents to nominate their favourite essential worker for a chance to win a free ride in a Harvard aircraft, or tickets to the upcoming St. Thomas Air Fest in June 2022. We are pleased to announce the winners of this contest:

Winners of Free Ride in a Harvard (rides to happen at a later date):
Charlene Blaney - Primary Care Paramedic – Vaccinator
Erin lee Gardner - Grocery Store Clerk
Mike Lawrence – Personal Support Worker

Winner of Family Pass to Air Fest 2022:
Adam Scharrer – Personal Support Worker

Winners of 2 General Admission tickets to Air Fest 2022:
Courtney McQuiggan - Crisis Repsonder
Craig Hudson – Security Guard
Stacey Langohr - Personal Support Worker
Jason Pollard - Tractor Mechanic and Volunteer Firefighter

A very special THANK YOU to everyone who took the time to send in their nominations. Each of those nominated are a real example of selfless service to our community. We also want to thank the pilots and the crews of the aircraft, along with our sponsors who continue to offer their support. We all look forward to looking up into the skies above St. Thomas on the 15th of May to watch a truly unique collection of aircraft and their SALUTE TO ALL ESSENTIAL WORKERS!