Edmonton Heritage Festival attendance short of last year's record
CBC News | Posted: August 7, 2018 3:56 AM | Last Updated: August 7, 2018
345,000 packed into Hawrelak Park over three days
It wasn't enough to shatter last year's record-breaking attendance, but an estimated 345,000 people stopped by Hawrelak Park for the Edmonton Heritage Festival over the long weekend.
Jim Gibbon, executive director of the Heritage Festival Association, said the attendance likely ranks in the top three in festival history.
The festival drew 350,000 in a single Sunday last year.
"Last year we had such an insane record," he said. "So it's going to be years before we break that."
The festival was dogged by traffic issues at the gate last year, with buses in gridlock as they waited to drop passengers at the grounds. This year, buses had a dedicated lane into the park and a terminal to ease congestion.
"It worked astonishingly well," Gibbon said. "I'm hoping we carry on with that for years and years in the future."
The festival was also able to ease foot traffic in the festival grounds by opening up a middle section of the park that had gone unused in years past. The decision created roughly 25 per cent more space and housed four new tents, as well as the festival's first solar farm.
Gibbon said there could be more solar panels in years to come as the festival works toward becoming a net-zero power consumer.
He also said attendees might be able to get to the festival by water taxi next year as a dock is expected to be installed at the park in the fall.
The number of people walking and biking to the festival was more than in years past as well, Gibbon said. Organizers have quadrupled the number of bike racks on the grounds over the past two years.
"They were packed again, so my guess is next year we'll have to double or triple them," he said.