The Lethbridge International Air Show will be on hiatus for a second consecutive summer, with a return now planned for 2020, organizers said this week.
Since 2013, the event had been taking place every two years at the Lethbridge Airport. The last show occurred in July 2017.
In December, event officials notified both Lethbridge city and county councils about the postponement.
Organizers said there are several reasons for the change, including the recent passing of long-time air show volunteer and board member Brent Botfield.
The air show association’s director of communications, Stacy Green, said there have also been other leadership changes and they wanted some time to rebuild themselves as an organization.
There was also an appetite to shift the event to even-numbered years in an effort to acquire more support from Canadian and American military branches.
The show’s 2020 edition will move from July to the August long weekend.
“The time of year we’ve been having our show in July has been conflicted,” Green said.
“We think it’s important that we can move to a weekend that isn’t already saturated with events so that we can actually bring some better economic impact and tourism to the city as well.”
After the 2020 show, Green said the plan is to resume holding the event every second year.