Fair weathers showers to pull healthy numbers
Despite spots of wet weather throughout the week, organizers say the Saskatoon Exhibition was a success in 2015.
According to Sunday’s count, more than 171,000 people attended the fair before it wrapped up its sixday run on Sunday.
Carl Schlosser, director of events with Prairieland Park, said 48,000 people would have had to come out on Sunday for the Ex to reach its 2014 count.
“We’ve definitely had some rain, but what we’ve also seen is that when we do have the sun people are definitely coming out and enjoying the show,” he said.
On Saturday, more than 53,000 people hit the Exhibition fairgrounds, up more than 4,500 when compared to the same day last year.
Schlosser said although 10,000 fewer people are expected this year than last, the event continues to be a summer staple in Saskatoon.
“Even in the pouring rain, we had just under 20,000 people out,” he said.
Schlosser said he thinks more people are starting to realize a rainy day doesn’t mean you have to stay away from the Ex, as the event has the ability to move much of the entertainment indoors if necessary.
“If they were prepared and dressed for it, they could still do all the rides and they could still enjoy all of the entertainment,” he said.
Over the course of the Exhibition, there was at least one occurrence where a 33-year-old man was assaulted with what police say was a “billiard ball attached to a chain” while he was standing in line for a ride on Aug. 4. He was taken to hospital with injuries police said were not life-threatening.
However, with thousands of people converging at the event each day, Schlosser said the odd instance of bad behaviour is “nothing out of the ordinary.”
Throughout the Exhibition, the Saskatoon Police Service assigns additional patrol, traffic and specialized units to the fair.
“We take everything into consideration when it comes to safety,” said Staff Sgt. Tony Nadon. “We know that numbers will be very high, so we staff appropriately for those events.”
He said overall, this year’s Exhibition was relatively peaceful.
“From what I understand, things went extremely well,” he said. “It was very quiet.”
While it’s projected the Ex will see a dip in attendance, final numbers will be tallied following the final day of the event.