Organizers, staff, vendors and volunteers worked hard Tuesday to put on the finishing touches for the Westerner Days Fair and Exposition.
The annual multi-day event runs from Wednesday to Sunday at Westerner Park, 4847A 19th St.
“It’s very exciting [having everything come together]. I can’t even hide the excitement on my face,” said Shannon Penny, Westerner Park marketing manager.
It was a very smooth setup for this year’s event, she added.
“No [problems] came up this year,” she said. “We were actually ahead of schedule. We got things rolling in on Monday so it started feeling like the fair was coming together.”
It takes a number of people to put together this event each year, including the 48 full-time staff members. The work of those workers, part-time staff and volunteers “make Westerner Days what it is,” said Penny.
All of the people putting together the event were working as a unit, Penny said.
“We had everyone rolling in effectively, which has been very helpful. The team has been collaborating together to make sure everyone is in the place they need to be.”
Even though tents and rides aren’t put together until Monday, work to get the fair up and running starts long before then.
“We start pretty early,” she said. “The operation staff makes sure the fairgrounds are ready to go, whether that’s landscaping or making sure the parking lot is clean and painted.”
There’s a lot of excitement seeing the fair come together, but the rides are the one thing Penny likes seeing go up the most.
“You see the lights and the colours and there’s excitement seeing all the different kinds of rides, from kids to thrill rides.”
It’s not just Penny who is excited for Westerner Days, she added.
“The city seems excited for it. There’s been a lot of positive social media activity.”
This year Westerner Days will showcase mainly Canadian entertainers, vendors and shows in celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday.
More than 90,000 people attended last year’s fair.
Westerner Days Fair and Exposition opens each day at noon and closes at midnight every night, other than Sunday which closes at 10:30 p.m.
The event kicks off Wednesday in downtown Red Deer with a parade beginning at 9:30 a.m.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
