There were a few more people than normal at the 17 Wing Detachment Dundurn on Saturday.
“Quite a few more than we’re used to,” Maj. Stephane Morency, the commanding officer of the base, said.
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The Canada Remembers air show was hosted at the military base over the weekend. The new venue welcomed close to 5,000 spectators on Saturday alone.
“A lot of our members here on the base served in Afghanistan and different peacekeeping missions around the world. Nobody knows that. It’s a chance to come out here and say thanks to them,” volunteer director Brian Swidrovich said.
Morency is among those who served in Afghanistan. He said with it being Canada’s 150th birthday and the 100th anniversary of Vimy Ridge, he knew the base would be the perfect location.
“What a better place to do this, when you want to do a salute to heroes, than in a military base,” Morency said.
“I would dare say that 99 per cent of our community have never been to camp Dundurn,” Swidrovich said.
“They know about, they’ve heard about, but they’ve never been here. You can’t just drive out here on a Saturday afternoon with your kids and look around, so this gives them an opportunity to come out here with the family.”
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Swidrovich, who has organized the event for 22 years, said this will be his last year.
“The best part after 22 years is having met so many veterans, so many military personnel, from U.S., Canada and overseas,” Swidrovich said.
The weekend highlights include the Snowbirds, a CF-18 hornet jet and the SkyHawks parchute team.
“Training is fun, but this is amazing, just to see what we’re capable of and show the people what the army is capable of,” Skyhawks demonstrator Sgt. Simon Laprade said.
Organizers said there are still tickets available for Sunday’s show at Shell gas stations in Saskatoon.
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