The University of Maine’s homecoming festivities will look a little different this year.
For the first time, the weekend of home athletic events and other campus activities is also taking to the skies with two different drone light shows.
Increasingly popular at major sporting events and other large gatherings, drone shows can feature hundreds of aerial drones flown in a choreographed way to make various patterns and shapes.
And according to UMaine, the two shows coming to campus on Friday and Saturday nights respectively will be the largest drone shows ever flown in Maine.
Grizzly Entertainment, an international company based on the Mediterranean Island of Cyprus, will be flying 400 drones in each of the shows to celebrate the UMaine homecoming. And they’ll be doing it for free.
Why is a Cypriot company bringing an unprecedented drone display, and doing it without charging?
The answer lies with the company’s CEO, Themis Violaris.
Violaris is a UMaine alum twice over, receiving a bachelor’s degree in Orono back in 1992 and a master’s in business administration two years later.
“It’s beautiful to return back home,” Violaris told the Bangor Daily News this week. “New England and especially Maine has treated me very nicely during my time when I was here. I always wanted to come back.”
His six person team will be putting on 10 minute shows on Friday and Saturday nights, with the first being UMaine hockey-themed as the Black Bears take on Colgate, and the second being a more general show geared toward celebrating UMaine alumni.
“We try to do something that covers the university, but also the state of Maine,” said Violaris, who didn’t want to share too many details ahead of time about what the shows will look like. “I would prefer to leave it as a surprise for people.”
The Friday show will be at 5:50 p.m. at the University Mall. The Saturday show will be at 5:50 p.m. at the Alfond football stadium.
Violaris said that each show costs $50,000 to put on but he is donating the performances to the university because of what UMaine means to him.
The Maine stop is one of five shows that Grizzly Entertainment is doing at universities across the country this year like the University of Arizona, UCLA and Stanford, Violaris said. The company’s U.S.-based activities are based out of Los Angeles.
“I’m so happy I’m coming back with my team. My team are all younger generation, Generation Z, below 27 years old, all of them,” he said. “So I want to show them what Maine gave me. So it’s a good opportunity for us to be here and enjoy Maine.”
Like UMaine, he believes these will be the biggest drone shows ever to grace Maine skies.
“So, I believe it’s a biggie. Come to see the show,” he said. “We’re gonna illuminate the campus.
He made it a point to include his alma mater on their list of college shows this year.
“It was a personal request for me to have Maine on the list,” Violaris said. “Maine has a personal touch for me, part of my heart, so I will never say no when Maine calls.”
Outside of the Pine Tree State, other sporting events where Grizzly Entertainment has flown its drones have included the Grey Cup in Canadian football and a show for the Tampa Bay Rays, as just a couple of examples.
While the company’s drones can’t be flown in the rain, the weather looks OK for this weekend’s performances, even if it might be a little chilly.
“I mean, come up, wear your warm clothes, and give us 10 minutes to dazzle you,” Violaris said.
