Moose Jaw celebrating 50 years of Snowbirds

The City of Moose Jaw has invited former members of the Snowbirds air demonstration squadron back to town to celebrate the team’s 50th anniversary.

More than 600 people from the Snowbirds’ past and present are expected to attend the event. It was initially scheduled to take place in 2020, but was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moose Jaw Mayor Clive Tolley says there’s a number of events planned from Thursday through Saturday. Those include attending a Moose Jaw Warriors WHL game, a flightsuit party and a reunion dinner.

“It’s going to be a jam-packed four days of action for the Snowbirds’ golden anniversary,” Tolley told the Greg Morgan Morning Show.

Over 50 years, hundreds of people have come to Moose Jaw to fly and work on the squadron’s planes.

Given the Snowbirds play such a large role in the city, Tolley said businesses and community members are going all out for the special event.

“Visit Moose Jaw has started this ‘paint the town red and white.’ You’re going to see our downtown with a sparkle of Christmas as well as the red and white to support the Snowbirds alumni. It’s going to look beautiful and be a great time,” Tolley explained.

Tolley added the city can’t wait to welcome everyone back, as people in town feel a sense of pride with the Snowbirds being stationed in their community.

“They’ve been the fabric of our community since 1971,” Tolley said. “There’s a lot of pride when we talk about the Moose Jaw Snowbirds and people overwhelmingly are supportive of the Moose Jaw Warriors’ decision to put the Snowbird plane on their new uniforms.

“We’ve got former Snowbirds here who live in the community and we’re all just very happy to have them here back in the community for this weekend.”