PHOTOS: 250-drone rodeo show lights up Surrey sky<\/p>\n
Published 2:00 pm Friday, May 22, 2026<\/p>\n
A drone show impressed crowds at this year\u2019s Cloverdale Rodeo & Country Fair on the May long weekend.<\/p>\n
High above Longhorn Saloon, Pixel Sky Animations used 250 computer-programmed drones to light up the sky with rodeo-themed graphics and words on two nights (Friday and Sunday, May 15 and 17).<\/p>\n
Many of the coloured images, including a saddle bronc rider and mutton-busting kid, moved to the beat of a music soundtrack created for the Vancouver-based company\u2019s 15-minute show. A masked wrestler even \u201ctalked\u201d to the audience.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rodeo was the first time we did the Surrey logo but not the first time we\u2019ve flown in Surrey,\u201d reported Jean-Michel Dentinger, president of Pixel Sky Animations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a Diwali show we did at one of the Hindu centres \u2014 that was a free public show too, I suppose.\u201d<\/p>\n
Business has grown since the company\u2019s big Grey Cup show at Vancouver\u2019s Coal Habour in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe drone show industry in Canada is pretty young,\u201d Dentinger noted. \u201cWe\u2019ve been flying shows since 2023. I think the first drone shows would have been in 2017, the first drone light show in Canada, at the PNE by the University of Toronto. That was kind of the infancy of the technology.\u2026 Now I\u2019d say we\u2019re the leaders in the country, the biggest in Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boasting a fleet of close to 900 drones, Pixel Sky works with clients to create thematic shows that typically cost between $20,000 and $80,000, according to Dentinger.<\/p>\n
An average show sees around 250 drones fly in the night sky.<\/p>\n
\u201cEarly on in drone shows, they were all kind of measured in how many drones are in the design,\u201d he said. \u201cYou would think that, like, a bigger show would just be better, but what we\u2019re finding is that the design quality and the strategy of designing the shows with less drones is actually more important than how many you have flying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Locally, look for Pixel Sky drone shows at Grouse Mountain this summer, at Chilliwack\u2019s Canada Day event and also during FIFA World Cup festivities.<\/p>\n