Sky Hawks sky-diving team to jump for Sydney, N.S. Ribfest

Two members of the Canadian Forces Skyhawks arrive for the start the Honda Indy in Toronto on Sunday, July 15, 2018. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn)

It's considered one of the most spectacular shows in the Canadian military and this weekend, the Sky Hawks parachute team will leap out into the sky over Sydney, N.S.

"We're here to put on a show for everybody,” said Sky Hawks demonstrator Bree Abbott. “What we do is we have different formations in the sky under canopy. There's smoke, there's flags — it's a great show."

For Abbott, this will be the first time in her Sky Hawks career jumping in Cape Breton — a place she says holds special meaning for her.

"I'm from kind of all over the place, but my family is from Glace Bay,” she said. “My dad joined the military and we moved around a lot, but my whole family lives here basically."

Lynne McCarron, the head of United Way Cape Breton, was set to tick an item off her bucket list Friday by doing a tandem jump with the Sky Hawks.

The jump was considered a way to get her organization, and the causes it supports, out there in front of a big crowd.

“I would be crazy I think, if I wasn't a little bit scared,” McCarron said. "Other than being strapped to somebody else, it's probably something I wouldn't do. And if they don't jump, I'm not going to say 'OK, come on let's go.' But once they jump, then it's all decided for me."

The Sky Hawks shows are part of this weekend’s seventh annual Sydney Rotary RibFest, and it’s the first time the military group is taking part in the Cape Breton event.

RibFest organizers hope the weather will allow military members to perform a jump each of the festival's three days.

"It is the first year, and we're really excited to welcome them,” said Michele McKinnon, one of Sydney RibFest’s organizers. "It's a great event on its own, but when you have something like the Sky Hawks on top of it, it just doesn't get better than that."

Saturday and Sunday's parachute shows are tentatively set for 11 a.m., weather permitting.

While the demonstrations are often done for complete strangers, for at least one Sky Hawk that won't be the case this time.

"It's just going to be really cool to put on a show for my family. I'm really excited for that,” Abbott said.

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