Lethbridge prepares for a return to normalcy with an event-filled summer

Lethbridge festival and event planners are busy arranging a summer schedule, including the Ex Park Farmer's Market, which will take place on Saturdays in the south pavilion

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — Without the annual Whoop-Up Days happening in 2020, it didn't feel much like summer in Lethbridge.

The same can be said for most events last summer as the COVID-19 pandemic brought an abrupt halt to the majority of planned festivities and forced tight restrictions across the board.

However, through the Alberta government's 'Open For Summer Plan', announced by Premier Jason Kenney on Tuesday, we could be free of all restrictions by as early as July 1.

This is good news for Exhibition Park which can now start planning the 2021 Whoop-Up Days,  that they're hoping to hold in late August according to CEO Mike Warkentin.

"I can't commit today to what Whoop-Up Days is going to look like, but we do have exciting plans in store," said Warkentin.

"We've got some exciting momentum going this week and in the coming weeks we're going to come out with what that plan is and finalize it and welcome everybody back, hopefully, this summer."

The plan is to hold the historic event from August 17 to 21.

Warkentin said they're still unsure of how things will look, mainly because of large construction projects happening at Ex Park as well as continuing to host the COVID-19 vaccination clinic in the west pavilion.

On top of that, there's the uncertainty surrounding the easing of restrictions as the province needs to meet the restart criteria first.

"This week's announcement, although exciting, is tempered a little bit because we do need to fully understand what this means," Warkentin told CTV.

"We need to watch as the roll-out happens over the next couple of weeks and we need to understand what we can do within the parameters."

It's not just Ex Park that are looking forward to the summer ahead, so is Tourism Lethbridge.

They got a head start on their summer festivities with the kick-off of this year's 'Food Truck Friday'.

It started on Friday May 28 and will be running every Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. until the end of summer in the parking lot of their Tourism Lethbridge Offices.

"The community's ready to get outside and do something after being locked down," said Jackie Stambene, Tourism Lethbridges' visitor services director.

"They remember the great food they ate here last year and they want to come out and support the trucks."

The food trucks in attendance were for week one were Hickory Street, Churros Anyone?, That Hawaiian Burger Truck, and Jerry's Pop Shop Lethbridge.

The trucks will be changing weekly and you can visit the Tourism Lethbridge Facebook page to see what's on the menu each week.

Stambene went on to say that they're also hosting a pop-up event starting Saturday June 5.

"We're launching what we're calling our 'Antique & Flea Market Pop-Up Saturdays' where we've invited people who have treasures and trinkets to come and sell their wares and we're going to partner that with a few food trucks some of the Saturdays as well," Stambene said.

Stambene said they have yet to decide all the dates they'll be holding the pop-up market but, much like food truck Fridays, will make that information available on their Facebook page and website.

Other events to look forward to this summer are Ex Park Farmers Market, which currently happens every Saturday in the south pavilion, and the Downtown Farmers Market which kicks off on July 7.

The Nikka Yuko Japanese Gardens are preparing to open their doors on June 3 to the public after postponing their opening a month.

The Lethbridge Bulls have also recently announced that they're expecting to have fans in the stands for their Canada Day double header against the Edmonton Prospects.

Their season kicks off on Friday June 18 against the Okotoks Dawgs.

Unfortunately, with the uncertainty still surrounding the July 1 re-opening, the city has opted to cancel this year's Canada Day fireworks and festivities and will once again be holding virtual and drive-by events.

For more information, you can visit the City of Lethbridge's website.