County council has agreed to chip in more cash to keep the Edmonton Airshow flying.
Sturgeon County council voted 6-1 (Coun. Karen Shaw opposed) Dec. 8 to cancel some $8,281 in penalties on money RWE Events (organizer of the Edmonton Airshow) owed the county, and 7-0 to provide $20,000 in in-kind support should the 2021 airshow occur.
Sturgeon County has long been a sponsor of the Edmonton Airshow, which typically draws some 40,000 people over two days to the Villeneuve Airport.
Attendance at the show took a nose-dive in 2018 due to heavy forest fire smoke, costing organizers some $200,000 and preventing them from paying in full for police and fire services, said economic development manager Tyler Westover. Heavy rains and this year’s pandemic caused the 2019 and 2020 airshows to be cancelled altogether. RWE Events owed the county about $29,800, including some $8,281.04 in penalties.
Westover said RWE Events was now working on and seeking support for its 2021 airshow. He recommended that council continue to support the airshow, as it helped showcase business opportunities in the county.
Mayor Alanna Hnatiw said an $8,000 write-off was worth it given that the airshow drew tens of thousands of guests to the county and promoted science and engineering careers to youth.
Coun. Wayne Bokenfohr agreed, adding that it was the airshow that convinced the province of the need to put a roundabout at the Hwy 44 intersection near Villeneuve.
“This is a small amount of money (for the county) to be put on the international stage,” he said.
In an interview, Edmonton Airshow president Richard Skermer said he welcomed the county’s support, adding that he was working with international airshow organizers to determine what performances would be possible next year.
“We’re probably going to adopt a drive-in strategy,” he said, but a lot could change between now and August.
While the pandemic had been a setback, Skermer said he still hoped to turn the airshow into a bigger commercial conference by 2022.
