A major new airshow is set to take flight this August at Villeneuve Airport.
Richard Skermer and Dean Heuman of RWE Events spoke to county council Tuesday about the proposed Edmonton Airshow.
RWE Events is the non-profit group that previously ran the Edmonton Indy at the now closed Edmonton municipal airport. The group pitched the airshow as a replacement for that event.
“Aviation is a major, major part of the Edmonton region’s past,” Heuman said in an interview, and the region has been host to airshows at Namao and the Edmonton International Airport in the past.
The Edmonton International Airport (EIA) has wanted to hold an airshow for about eight years but its main airport is too busy to host one, Skermer and Heuman said. The newly upgraded Villeneuve Airport is a perfect fit, however.
The airshow, if approved, will run from Aug. 21 to 23 at Villeneuve Airport. Aug. 21 would be a practice/media day with no access to the public. The public show would run on the latter two days from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Heuman said in an interview that this event would draw up to 25,000 guests over the two public days. They could probably sell more tickets, he added, but wanted to keep things small this year to get a grip on the traffic.
Heuman said that he’d yet to calculate the possible economic impact of the airshow on the county, but said the performers and event staff alone would need about 130 nights of hotel accommodations in total. They would also have to buy and rent food, fuel, fences and port-a-potties. The event’s budget was about $275,000.
Skermer said his group has teamed up with Showline Airshow Services to run the show. Showline works on the Discovery Channel’s Airshow program and ran an airshow at the Edmonton International in 2002.
“We’re taking this to the absolute max level in terms of safety,” Skermer told council, and they have plans to call in support from the EIA and the Edmonton Garrison.
Heuman told council that the group was finalizing its emergency plans right now and would meet and exceed all requirements under the county’s special events bylaw. They’ve arranged paid on-site and volunteer security, and want to work with county bylaw and RCMP officers for both site security and traffic control measures.
All proceeds from this non-profit event will go towards local charities, Skermer said.
“This is definitely meant to help the community.”
Mayor Tom Flynn noted that the timing of this group’s presentation was awkward given that council was debating a new version of its special events bylaw and had previously moved to deny permits to any event involving over 2,000 people until that bylaw was updated.
(Council tabled third reading of the special events bylaw Tuesday until later this month. The Gazette will have a full story on the bylaw next week.)
Still, this group seemed to be ready to meet the new law’s safety requirements, Flynn said.
“It’s a real opportunity for the airport and for Sturgeon County.”
Coun. Patrick Tighe said he was excited by the proposed show, and recalled the huge crowds brought by the old Namao airshow.
Skermer said in an interview that this show would have no problem meeting requirements under the county’s current or proposed special events laws, as they already had to meet the much-higher safety requirements for airports.
Heuman said his team would now work with the county to get a permit for this event.
Questions on the show should go to Heuman at 780-732-7213 ext. 201.
