BRUNSWICK
The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds jet team will headline the 2012 Great State of Maine Air Show at Brunswick Landing, Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority executive director Steve Levesque confirmed Tuesday from Las Vegas, where he is attending the International Council of Air Shows.
The Thunderbirds are scheduled to perform Aug. 24 to 26, 2012, at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station. Levesque continues to work this week at the trade event to schedule other performers to appear at Maine’s air show.
While officials have not yet determined whether they will hold an air show the following year, Levesque also confirmed that the U. S. Navy Blue Angels have included Brunswick Landing on their schedule for Sept. 12 to 14, 2013.
“ We’re very pleased that the Thunderbirds are coming,” Levesque said by phone. “ We’re hoping for good crowds and good family entertainment. We’re hopeful we’ll have more (attendance) and won’t have a hurricane to deal with.”
The 2011 Great State of Maine Air Show was curtailed by one day after Tropical Storm Irene blew into Brunswick.
Nevertheless, thanks mostly to an insurance policy that covered event cancellations in case of weather, MRRA showed a profit from the 2011 show, netting just more than $ 90,000, Levesque said in November. Of that, $ 70,000 was donated to area nonprofit groups, he said.
The organization announced in November that it would hold another air show in 2012, but officials did not disclose the name of the jet team eyed for the event.
The Thunderbirds will perform a night show on Friday, Aug. 24, and day shows on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 25 and 26, Levesque said.
The business expo, which coincided with the air show this year, will be moved to the first weekend in June 2012 to coincide with the second annual International Fly-In, he said.
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