Edmonton Journal ePaper

Renewed vigour could mean an end to rough ride for K-days

KEITH GEREIN

When West Edmonton Mall announced last week that it was permanently shutting down its Mindbender rollercoaster, the news undoubtedly came as a disappointment among locals who enjoyed the ride over the last 37 years.

As for the city's other long-standing source of kinetic amusement — K-days — an end to their rollercoaster would come as a much more welcome development.

To be clear, I'm not talking about any particular midway contraption, but rather the wild rises, falls and loop-de-loops of fortune that Edmonton's signature summer fair has endured in recent years.

Increasing competition from other attractions. An ill-advised rebranding effort (let's try to forget those Capital Ex years). The loss of the parade.

The closure of the racetrack. The demise of Northlands. Two years of COVID cancellations.

As rides go, it's hard to imagine a more jolting experience.

Thankfully, the event came back strong last year in its first appearance since the pandemic arrived, indicating the brand still has significant value. More than 760,000 people passed through the gates, well ahead of attendance from 2019.

It was also a successful debut at the helm for city tourism and event agency Explore Edmonton, the first time since 1879 that someone other than Northlands managed the fair.

Besides the traditional menu of rides, games, food and concerts, the agency and partners put together a worthy program of other attractions, including daily francophone music, theatre productions, arts and crafts making, an Indigenous experience and a gaming exhibition, among other things.

However, despite that positive return to form, there is no question that further twists and turns lie ahead for K-days.

The real mindbender here is around how city development ambitions for the exhibition lands might affect the event's objectives. Likewise, how well can K-days maintain a traditional footprint amid such change while also evolving into more of a citywide, diverse celebration of Edmonton?

Though still a long way off, we know the city's plans call for a major overhaul of the Northlands area to a transit-oriented, mixeduse development. The Coliseum and horse track are slated for demolition in the coming years, to eventually make way for major new housing, commercial and retail spaces and an expanded Borden Park — all connected to the Capital Line LRT.

Permanent exhibition grounds are also part of the vision, which means K-days will continue to call the area home in perpetuity. However, there are many details still to sort out, including how the fair will manage through years of construction, how it can co-exist amid new residential developments, and whether that space can be better designed to hold events throughout the year.

Of note, the Edmonton Heritage Festival is moving to the Borden Park-northlands site for at least the next three years while Hawrelak Park is redeveloped. Could that become an enduring relocation that sparks more festivals? What other amenities might be desirable, like a more permanent performance facility, yearround market or sports venue?

“To be able to activate a site that does sit vacant for a large part of the year would be fantastic,” said Ashley Salvador, city councillor for Ward Métis, which includes Northlands. “I'd like to see more of that and would be very excited about welcoming more events, and other opportunities to add some vibrancy to that area.”

As mentioned, the city is still a ways off from finalizing any plans, but K-days has to be thinking about those details now.

That said, infrastructure is only one part of the puzzle.

Explore Edmonton has been conducting an outreach effort called “Reimagine K-days,” in which patrons have been asked what sort of programming they'd like to see.

Interestingly, while respondents expressed a desire to maintain some tradition and nostalgia, there was also major interest in expanding the event beyond Northlands to become a broader community celebration, said Explore Edmonton CEO Traci Bednard.

In this vein, we can perhaps think of the Calgary Stampede with its countless pancake breakfasts, corporate events and community celebrations. Though that's just one potential model, the central idea is that the whole city becomes part of the party.

“A key part of the research that was really eye-opening to me was that people wanted a piece of K-days where they were,” Bednard said. “They liked that K-days was a place you went to, but they also said, `How do we bring that K-days celebration of Edmonton outside of just that location?'”

In the past, Klondike Days had some of that reach. A major aspect to that was the annual parade that drew huge crowds downtown and served as a showcase for the corporate sector, arts and culture groups, community agencies and city institutions.

The parade was cancelled in early 2020, before K-days organizers were aware that COVID would force cancellation of the whole event.

Bednard acknowledged some in the public have expressed a desire to have the parade return, but there are real concerns about costs and logistics. Some have suggested parades are mostly a relic of the past and that money is better spent in other ways.

“We are talking to different partners to see if that's a priority and if that's something we could possibly produce,” Bednard said.

She said Explore Edmonton is also looking at the question of how to keep updating the event to continually give patrons something new.

Summer fairs in other cities often have different themes, or bring in big showcase exhibits or performances. K-days could consider that same idea, though Bednard noted that could risk pushing admission prices higher than some people can afford.

All of these questions add up to a fair amount of uncertainty, and yet I also sense a real aura of optimism and opportunity around K-days for the first time in a while. With a little luck and some smart planning, maybe the wild rides of the future will be just for the patrons.

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2023-02-07T08:00:00.0000000Z

2023-02-07T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://edmontonjournal.pressreader.com/article/281492165472614

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