K-Days crowds down — then up
After slow start, 100,000 people attended Tuesday
At the midpoint of K-Days, Northlands president and CEO Tim Reid said Wednesday that attendance at the annual exhibition is picking up after a slow start, good crowds attended the inaugural K-Days Rodeo, and abortion rights protesters were asked to leave the fairgrounds Monday.
ATTENDANCE
Attendance is starting to pick up after a slow opening weekend due to the weather, Reid said. But he said Tuesday was “a boomer of a day” with about 100,000 people on the grounds — one of the best days in the last decade.
On the other end of the spectrum, Reid said Monday was one of the lightest days on record in the last 10 years because of the weather.
“Normally, what happens is people have a terrible day of weather, they have tickets in hand and the first day when the sun comes up they tend to arrive,” he said.
RODEO
For the inaugural K-Days Rodeo, Reid said about 15 per cent of visitors went to check out the action. Entry is included with the gate admission. Northlands had a goal of 12,000 attendees throughout the three days and Reid said that was broken with numbers around 14,500.
Members of Voice for Animals Society-Edmonton were protesting outside Northlands Coliseum, voicing concerns for animals taking part in the rodeo competitions.
Reid said Northlands always provides a location for protesters and supports their right to do so. He added Northlands has always believed in rodeo and celebrating western culture.
ABORTION CONTROVERSY
Protesters in front of the Edmonton Prolife booth who took issue with a graphic anti-abortion message were asked to leave the grounds Tuesday and were banned for a day.
“What they chose to do yesterday was really protest on-site in a non-collaborative fashion,” he said. “Our message to them is if they would like space next year at K-Days, reach out to us.”
Reid said diversity is a success of K-Days and groups can share their opinions in a safe and respectful way. Edmonton Prolife paid full rate for the booth and are treated like the other exhibitors, Reid said.
SAFETY AND SECURITY
An increased level of bag checks and use of metal detection wands have sometimes created longer lines, Reid said, but he added safety is the biggest priority.
These increased security measures were initiated a couple of years ago and the protocols are being used again, Reid said.
“Just a new standard of security measures around events,” Reid said.
K-Days runs until July 30.