The Canadian Forces Snowbirds stopped by Nanaimo Regional General Hospital ahead of their performance over the harbour.

Capt. Thomas Thornton was the one who approached NRGH, asking if patients and staff would be interested in a visit from Snowbirds pilots and technicians.

"It goes back to one of the reasons I joined the team," Thornton told the News Bulletin. "We had family acquaintances … whose daughter was very sick, and they lived in Moose Jaw so they got to visit the squadron and go on a tour and it meant a lot to them – even the 10-minute distraction."

He said the squadron typically visits two or three hospitals a year, mostly in Ontario.

"I don't know exactly what the Nanaimo set-up is but in Toronto and [ Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario] and Ottawa sometimes these are

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