Peter Shokeir | [email protected]
An elaborate drone show brought out hundreds of onlookers to Commemoration Park on Oct. 22 and helped cap off the Jasper Dark Sky Festival.
This was the second year that the drone show had been part of the festival, which is organized by Tourism Jasper.
“That was such an incredible event last year, hard not to want to replicate and offer that again,” said Tyler Riopel, director of destination development for Tourism Jasper.
The show consisted of 150 drones making celestial shapes, such as one of Saturn and other of a comet, and was put on by North Star Fireworks and Drone Shows.
The Dark Sky Band played their original score live during the show to accompany the drones.
While the weather was chilly, the sky was mostly clear, with the natural beauty of visible stars adding to the glamour of the manmade display.
Before the drone show, TELUS World of Science hosted an evening science show, and the Dark Sky Band played a show.
Riopel explained that some programming occurred the following day, but the drone show was ultimately the big crowd-pleaser towards the end of the festival.
The drone show is also an environmental alternative to fireworks, which are not allowed in a national park without a Parks Canada permit.
“The beauty of drone shows is exactly that, from an environmental sustainability point of view,” Riopel said.
“They’re much cleaner than a traditional fireworks show would be. There’s no noise pollution, there’s no chance of fire, there’s no real risk of any of that sort of adverse impact.”
Last month, Parks Canada reported multiple instances of illegal drone usage near the Chetamon wildfire, with firefighting helicopters having to be grounded at one point.
Riopel said their drone show was put on through a professional company, with the permission of Parks Canada, and highlighted how important it was to set a good example in terms of responsible drone usage.
Editor's note: The story has been updated to clarify that fireworks are not allowed in a national park without a Parks Canada permit.
