Westerner Days could “potentially” be impacted by the 2020 provincial budget, says Westerner Park’s CEO.
“But we have not received confirmation of what that looks like,” said Mike Olesen.
“All of the Class B fair and exposition associations experience an additional impact based on the budget, but they haven’t gotten specific as to how that will roll out amongst all of them. That’s every city beyond Edmonton and Calgary.”
The UCP government released its budget recently. It was announced the Calgary Stampede and Edmonton’s Northlands, which hosts K-Days, went from receiving $11.2 million to $9 million.
Olesen said Westerner Park receives a grant worth $400,000.
“Westerner Days is one event of Westerner Park. It’s not as if the grant itself is fully allocated to that event. It certainly contributes towards that, but it’s really a component within our overall agricultural budget,” he said.
Earlier this year, Westerner Park asked the City of Red Deer to temporarily oversee the finances of the agricultural society to ensure its success.
“We’re still working diligently with the city to define that financial oversight piece,” Olesen said.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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