Some cultural groups at the August long weekend Heritage Festival were worried extended Monday festivities weren’t going to make up for lost profits on Saturday and Sunday. Heavy wind on Sunday shut the William Hawrelak park event down in the early afternoon. Saturday also saw a slight dip in attendance during bouts of rain, organizers say. The festivities were originally slated to shut down Monday at 8 p.m. before the City of Edmonton announced the decision that morning to keep the show going until 9 p.m. “We know that the decision had a real impact, not just on those who come to the festival, but also on the many cultural organizations that rely on Heritage Festival as one of their biggest annual fundraising opportunities,” Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack told reporters. “That extra hour is going to give Edmontonians the opportunity to come down, experience the festival, support the pavilions and celebrate the incredible diversity that makes Edmonton such a vibrant city.” The Edmonton Heritage Festival, which this year featured around 80 groups’ food, music and dance from around the world, is considered the world’s largest three-day multicultural celebration. Festival association executive director Rob Rohatyn thanked Knack for his “decisive action” and commended city administration for ensuring cultural pavilions at the festival would be able to recoup their losses. Daniel Hernandez, who has juggled several festival association roles for 11 years and this year became president of its board of directors, said it’s been a “challenging year,” despite Edmontonians showing up in droves to support the festival. “Saturday was actually a really good day for us,” he told reporters. “The lines were big. The pavilions were incredibly surprised. I think it’s been one of our best Saturdays over the last 10 years or so. “Yesterday we only had two hours. It was rainy, so yesterday was very challenging, so for us, losing an entire day – it’s a big hit for fundraising efforts.” Some groups on Monday were concerned it might have been too big a hit. “There’s been a lot of confusion, a lot of back and forth communication, and two evacuations back-to-back, which impacted us hugely,” Azerbaijan Cultural Society of Edmonton president Fatima Mammadova told CTV News Edmonton. She noted that most of the groups at the festival were contributing their own food, supplies and entertainment to turn a profit to invest back into their community organizations. “Because of everyone’s safety, we understand certain decisions have to be made. But … There’s been a negative impact because we have spent so much money, so much preparation went into making this happen, and getting everyone here and closing right away has been bittersweet.” She says many of the nearby pavilions she’s spoken with are “going through loss.” “There’s increases in the festival fees, tents and food. We’re still trying to make it affordable for everyone coming … But we feel like this is going to be a year of loss for everyone.” Bosnia and Herzegovina representatives were trying to “make money back at least, if we cannot make any profit,” and had lowered Monday prices to attract customers. “We have a WhatsApp group chat of (nearby) tents, and the presidents of the pavilions and so on. Everybody is in the same squeeze,” Tahereh Filipović said. Hernandez told reporters the third day of the festival was typically the day community groups broke even and generated money for their organizations. Knack said the city has recovered some of the costs for the event while not making any revenue itself. And the return to newly renovated William Hawrelak Park may mean a new emergency management strategy. “We are relearning how to do work here … We have never had a year with so much rain, wind, and all the weather factors,” Hernandez said. “We’ve been chatting with other communities and other festival organizers, and we’re trying to bring all that festival knowledge together so that we can all improve.” The City of Edmonton has coordinated police, EMS and traffic management to keep the extended event running smoothly. Park and ride transit service will still operate from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., but at a “reduced capacity,” a Monday media release notes. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Curtis Goodrum
