It was a full house at the Bradford West Gwillimbury Seniors Association event in the Danube Seniors Leisure Centre as Sgt. Wilson’s Airforce Show brought its popular Music at the Hangar to Bradford.
The show, set in a Second World War airforce hangar, featured Sgt. Wilson, along with Donna, Rose and Peggy as they presented the music of Glenn Miller, the Andrews Sisters, Doris Day, Rosemary Clooney, Frankie Lane, and many other artists from the 1940s and ’50s.
Previously, the Sgt. Wilson’s Airforce Show has come to Bradford in 2012 with their variant, the Sgt. Wilson’s Army Show, making an appearance in 2016.
Based out of Almelo in the Netherlands, the Sgt. Wilson’s Airforce Show spend their summers performing on tour at European military bases and air shows.
Once their summer tour is over, they pack their set and equipment into a van, ship the van to Halifax and start their annual cross-Canada tour.
With 33 shows scheduled between Nova Scotia and British Columbia, Friday night’s show in Bradford marked the halfway point for this year’s tour.
The popularity of the show along with the memories that it brings back drew crowds from Barrie, Newmarket, Aurora as well as from the local Bradford area.
Jan Evans, director of special events for the Bradford West Gwillimbury Seniors Association, says the audience is a bit of a mix where “some have served and come for the memories, some like the music and some just want a night out for $20.”
During the show’s intermission, where refreshments were provided by the Holland Gardens Retirement Community, some audience members could be overheard reminiscing about their lives as children in England during the war.
The smiles and laughter were abundant as they spoke about some of the childhood shenanigans they would get into as day to day survivors of the war.
While the Sgt. Wilson’s Airforce Show was open to the public, most events with the Bradford West Gwillimbury Seniors Association are restricted as members-only events.
Proceeds from these events help fund local charities such as the Helping Hand Food Bank as well as fund a number of scholarships for local high schools.
To check out their upcoming event schedule or become a member, please go to the Bradford West Gwillimbury Seniors Association website here.
