Fair attendance skyrockets at this year’s Whoop-Up Days
By Steffanie Costigan - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on August 29, 2023.
Every year Lethbridge celebrates Whoop-Up Days and this year’s fair saw record high attendance.Lethbridge and District Exhibition Chief Executive Officer Mike Warkentin said Friday that two contributing factors to the successful week were free admission and the sunny weather.
Whoop-Up Days “has been a phenomenal success. Mother Nature has cooperated with us perfectly. We got a little bit of moisture right around (the parade) for a time. But it smartened up really right after we opened the gate to the park. And we’ve had nothing but phenomenal weather since. And the numbers of people coming to the ground certainly reflected that,” said Warkentin.
Warkentin said there was an increase in attendance of approximately 124 per cent compared to the Exhibition’s six-year average within the first three days of the fair opening.
He noted the free admission was a huge factor in this year’s success.
“I think the biggest one is the free admission,” said Warkentin, noting the Exhibition wanted the fair to be an accessible event with a sense of community pride.
“everyone was able to come and enjoy it in some way. And so that’s why we made the decision to go to a free admission model this year.”
Warkentin said rodeo attendance increased by double compared to 2022. He said he believes another contributing factor to the overall success of this year’s Whoop-Up Days was the opening of the Agri-Food Hub and Trade Centre.
“People want to see the new facility. It’s our 260,000 square foot trade and convention center that will truly bring thousands of hundreds of thousands of visitors into southern Alberta over the next couple of years.”
Warkentin noted the 50/50 jackpot also experienced an increase in success as the jackpot has reached approximately over $40,000 and continued to climb over the weekend. He voiced future plans for Whoop-Up Days will focused on the community and reasons for celebrating Lethbridge.
“We really see the future of Whoop-Up Days being about this community being about a homecoming for people who have left this community, giving them reasons to come back. For people who have moved away for this weekend and making this a really special time to be in Lethbridge and to celebrate everything that is Lethbridge.” 2
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