“I just enjoy the snowbirds. I see them whenever I can, I’ve seen them for many, many years since I moved back to Fort McMurray years ago, and it just instills a sense of national pride,” said one local woman. “To see the formations, they are just incredible. They get together and break up and it’s just nail biting, another local added. Having passed nearly a decade since the snowbirds put on a show in Kelowna, the Canadian Forces pilots were thrilled with the turnout as well as the response from the locals. “It’s been really better than we expected,” said PR manager Gabriel Ferris… “The reaction we’ve had has been just tremendous. Just incredible to be able to interact with the population for once. Last year it was a bit weird with the driving formats, it’s been really great to be able to do that now, and to be able to sign autographs and meet people and take some pictures and selfies, it’s really great.” Wings and Wheels was a post-flight celebration open to the public where the snowbirds, as well as YLW, teamed up with August Luxury Motors to give the community a chance to meet the pilots in person and catch their eye on some of the coolest planes and cars around. “You know, airplanes and cars are my two favorite things, so we were very happy to support. All the snowbirds drive cars from us and stuff, so that’s cool. They are incredible guys to meet and talk to and it was a lot of fun,” said Matt August. Thousands of people took the snowbirds from downtown, but many more attended Wings and Wheels – which the Kelowna International Airport believes is only a positive sign for the future of aviation. “We’re also trying to stimulate interest in the next generation to look at aviation as a career, because that’s really where it’s going to come from, and so part of the snowbirds event is to continue that stimulation of people to consider aviation as a career,” he smiled airport manager Sam Samadhar. The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will play a second show in downtown Kelowna this Sunday before taking off and playing shows across the country and even the United States until mid-October.
