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Abbotsford Airshow a success despite stubborn weather, says spokesperson

Early estimates show significant drop in attendence from last year
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Pilot Kent Pietsch performs some upside-down aerobatics with his 1942 “Jelly Belly” Interstate Cadet plane. Pietsch has performed more than 400 aerobatic shows since 1973. (Patrick Penner photo.)

Despite challenging weather keeping some people at home, the Abbotsford International Airshow was still a success, say airshow organizers.

“Mother Nature threw us some interesting weather on Saturday and Sunday. So that kept our air boss and our announcers tap-dancing for the weekend,” said airshow spokesperson Jadene Mah. Nevertheless, she deemed the event “a great show.”

The rough estimates for attendance for the 57th annual airshow, which ran Friday to Sunday, was 60,000 over the weekend, a decrease from the 90,000 last year.

“People definitely checked the weather forecast before they came out to the show,” Mah said.

Due to unco-operative weather, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds were unable to perform Saturday, but they took to the skies on Sunday.

Mah said the performance scheduling made the road congestion more manageable this year.

“We were able to get in people in faster, certainly on the Friday night.”