Fairchild Air Force Base officials announced Monday that the popular open house and air show Skyfest 2013, scheduled for May 18-19, has been canceled because of lack of funding due to the federal sequestration. Following sequestration budget cuts, U.S. Air Force leadership directed all open house and air show events to be cancelled.
“Team Fairchild is disappointed to have to cancel Skyfest 2013,” Col. Brian Newberry, 92nd Air Refueling Wing commander, said in a news release.
The scheduled headlining act for Skyfest 2013, the Air Force’s popular aerial demonstration team the Thunderbirds, canceled all performances after April 1 due to lack of funding. This year’s Skyfest was set to be in conjunction with the 75th anniversary celebration of Spokane’s Lilac Festival.
“Even though we have to curtail spending, we will continue to ensure that Team Fairchild provides worldwide aerial refueling for our combat forces,” Newberry said. “We certainly hope to be able to host an Air Show for our patriotic community in the future – down the road when fiscal times improve.”
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