The first day of Westerner Days Fair and Exposition nearly broke a record with people pouring through the turnstiles.
On Wednesday 15,395 people attended Westerner Days, only 15 people away from the 2010 record-setter of 15,410.
The evening was also busy with 3,448 people attending the Hedley concert.
By Thursday evening Westerner Park marketing manager Erin Gobolos said attendance numbers were looking very good.
“We have had a steady gate and the parking lot is full again so we are hoping to beat the record for Thursday,” she said.
“We have a few shows that are really popular.
“And that is our goal, every year we want to keep it fresh and give people a reason to come back,” Gobolos said.
New this year is the X-Treme Wild family-fun attraction at the outdoor amphitheature.
Four zookeepers, all from the Bowmanville Zoo, a small private zoo about 45 minutes east of Toronto, travelled to Westerner Days in order to educate the public about endangered animals, such as the Siberian tiger.
They showed a off a lynx, a hare, a grey wolf, bison, half Siberian tiger, zebra, who was accompanied by a miniature horse, and a male lion weighing 550 pounds. People also have the opportunity to ride a camel and get their picture taken with a baby lion.
Dexter Burden, Lori-Lynn Stanley and their children Brooklynn, 3, and Dakota, 5, had just finished watching the X-Treme Wild show on Thursday.
“It was excellent,” Dexter, from Red Deer, said. “It is a nice feature that they added.”
Bowmanville Zoo keeper Lindsay Paats has been working with the animals for about six years. She says it is important to know all about the behavioral traits of each animal.
“It is nice to come to places like this when there are not a whole lot of these things around and educate the public, specifically about animals that are endangered,” she said.
“It is also nice for kids to come and interact on a more personal level and it leaves them thinking a little more,” she said.
Most of the animals are leash trained so the keepers take them for walks on the grounds before the fair opens.
X-Treme Wild has daily show times at 2 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.
On Thursday organizers were disappointed to announce the cancellation of the Canadian Forces Parachute Team, the SkyHawks, due to mechanical issues with their aircraft. They were scheduled to jump into the bowl of the pony chuckwagon track, as they did on Wednesday evening.
Nazareth will be performing at Westerner Park at 8:30 p.m. today. The concert is free with gate admission. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Also, be sure not to miss The Northern Lights Fireworks show this evening.
jjones@www.reddeeradvocate.com