By Lisa Gordon | August 1, 2023 Estimated reading time 7 minutes, 45 seconds.
Do you love the magic of jet team performances? Thrill to the spectacle of graceful aerial choreography set against magnificent blue skies? Long to hear the music of screaming jet engines?
Then you won’t want to miss the 74th Canadian International Air Show (CIAS), roaring into action from Sept. 2 to 4, 2023. Performed over Lake Ontario from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. each day, the event is an annual Labour Day Weekend tradition along the Toronto waterfront.
This year, the show lineup is jam-packed with can’t-miss acts, including a jet team doubleheader. See the iconic Canadian Forces Snowbirds as they celebrate the team’s 52nd season, and be awed by the F/A-18 Super Hornets belonging to the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, who will be back in Toronto for the first time since 2009.
“We’re really excited to have that double headline for 2023,” said Lori Duthie, CIAS executive director. “The Snowbirds couldn’t make it last year and it was the only year that we didn’t have them in our show – we certainly missed them and we’re happy they are back. As for the Blue Angels, we’ve been working on landing them for four years, so it’s been a long time in the making.”
Adding to the jet action will be the CF-18 Demo Team, performing one of only five aerobatic demonstrations this season (there are five additional tactical fighter demonstrations scheduled for the team). This year, the Demo Hornet will be flying in its operational grey paint scheme.
Capt. Aimee “Rebel” Fiedler and the U.S. Air Force F-16 Demo Team will also make a loud entrance, showcasing the F-16C Fighting Falcon Block 50. As a special treat, the F-16C will perform a heritage flight alongside a P-51 Mustang flown by Jim Beasley, Jr. of the Air Force Heritage Flight Program.
The CIAS is also honored to be hosting the final appearance of longtime aerobatic performer Gord Price in his Yak-50.
“Gord said he was going to retire last year, but he decided to stay one more year,” said Duthie. “But our Monday show will be his final airshow performance at age 81. He’s taken up pickleball and he’s ready to end the airshows. So Monday will be Gord Price Day – he’ll be signing autographs.”
The CIAS will welcome Ontario pilot Trevor Rafferty — chief instructor with Upright Aviation Academy — in his red-and-white Pitts 12 for his debut performance with the show. Scratch Mitchell will also thrill onlookers with the showy Ace Maker II, a 1954 Canadair CT-133.
Duthie said additional acts are still being confirmed.
CIAS show action will be narrated by Ken Hildebrandt and Brittany Nielsen and the show will once again be live streamed, an innovation first introduced in 2021.
“The live stream has been a tremendous success,” said Duthie. “We stream the narration – so you can click to hear the audio and watch the show live from wherever you are along the waterfront. Or, if you’re not in Toronto, you can click to watch the video. Last year, 150,000 people from 14 different countries watched the livestream.”
CIAS 2023 ticketholders will have lots to occupy them in the Exclusive Air Show Zone, including food trucks, performer autograph sessions, and a new STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) zone featuring a CF-18 cockpit display, a Royal Canadian Air Cadet glider, and representatives from organizations such as Centennial College’s aerospace program, Pilots4Paws, and Nav Canada.
“We know there are a million people watching the show and likely a lot of young people watching,” said Duthie. “They may not know the path to become a pilot, engineer, air traffic controller, etc. We’ll have leaders there from across the industry to talk with them.”
Duthie said airshow tickets are selling fast, with VIP chalets sold out for Saturday and Sunday. She credited more than 170 volunteers, many of whom work throughout the year, for making the show a success.
“We are the longest consistently running airshow in North America,” she concluded. “The CIAS is an end of summer finale, a tradition in Toronto. It’s just incredible, the scene over Lake Ontario, where people can watch from a 14-kilometer stretch along the shore. There are tickets for a more elevated experience, but the show is free to the public as well. It’s always busy and parking is limited, so take public transit down if you can.”
Click here to buy tickets to the show.
