REGINA -- The Snowbirds team is scheduled to return to their home base at 15 Wing Moose Jaw on Monday afternoon, and the city is rallying together to create visual displays of support following the death of Cpt. Jennifer Casey last week.

Capt. Jennifer Casey

The Show Your Heart initiative encourages the public to create large hearts on sidewalks using chalk, or any other type of display, that will be visible to the team when they fly over the city around 2:35 p.m., in a Hercules transport aircraft.

“[The Snowbirds] go and they put on a show for Canadians, really all across North America, and now it’s time for us to put on a show for them so they know they’re in our thoughts,” Lisa Franks, Honourary Colonel with 15 Wing Moose Jaw, said. Franks’ role is to act as a liaison between the community and the base.

Franks said this is a good way for people to show their support while still giving the Snowbirds space and time to reconnect with their loved ones on the ground.

“We also really wanted to be respectful of the grieving process and the healing that the team is going through,” Franks explained. “We didn’t want to intrude.”

The support initiative is turning into a full community effort. First responders will form a heart with their vehicles when the Snowbirds are landing. The Wakamow Valley Authority will mow a heart into a field on 4th Ave., and a large Canadian flag will be displayed on the sports field at Central Collegiate.

Chalk is available for pick up at the Tourism Moose Jaw office for anyone interested in creating a display.

Creating displays

On Sunday afternoon, one extended family gathered at Palliser Heights School in Moose Jaw to create their Show Your Heart display out of chalk.

snowbird memorial

The children were wearing Snowbirds costumes, which they wore last Halloween.

snowbirds

“We want to do anything we can to show our support for them,” Emily Kempe, a Moose Jaw resident and parent, said. “We are proud to be from Moose Jaw because of the Snowbirds.”

She said she hopes the team feels a sense of home when they see the art.

Anyone who is not located in Moose Jaw is encouraged to share photos of their displays on social media using the #ShowYourHeart so the Snowbirds can see how far and wide the support is coming from.

The Snowbirds are expected to land around 2:35 p.m. on Monday.