SkyHawks open Penticton Peach Fest with amazing demo

PENTICTON – This year’s Penticton Peach Festival lived up to its billing today as the five-day event began under beautiful mid-summer conditions.

Smoke created some hazy visibility today, Aug. 8, but that wasn’t enough to stop Canadian Armed Forces SkyHawks Parachute Team from another hugely entertaining performance over the noon hour.

The SkyHawks were part of the festival last year and proved to be one of the most popular events of 2017. There’s another performance by the Skyhawks at 5 p.m. today.

Meanwhile, Main Street was lined with spectators for the Peach Bin Race, which featured eight teams racing some unwieldy packing boxes partway down the length of the 100 block of Main Street and back again.

The Greyback Hammerheads prevailed to win the race for the second year in a row.

The race is all in fun with racers donating their entry fees to the winning team's charity of choice. The Downtown Penticton Association matches the amount, effectively doubling the donation.

A full afternoon of activities takes place at Okanagan Lake Park today, Aug. 8, through to Sunday, with dancing, music and other forms of entertainment.

Tonight’s musical performance at the Peters Bros. stage in Okanagan Lake Park features rocker Kim Mitchell. He’ll be followed by April Wine tomorrow night, and on Friday three tribute bands –  Eagle Eyes (Eagles), High Voltage (AC/DC) and Petty Fever (Tom Petty) provide the free entertainment.

Saturday’s performance will see country music star George Canyon take to the stage, followed by an evening with Madeline Merlo on Sunday.

Mega Motocross performances are also scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

A full schedule and more information can be found on the Peach Festival website here.

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