Cathedral Village Arts Festival wraps up in Regina

((Damian Smith/CTV News)

The 26th edition of the Cathedral Village Arts Festival wrapped up Saturday, with organizers saying 390 vendors participated along 13th Avenue.

“I think the reason that we have so many vendors is a reflection on the state of the economy,” said Don Young, the festival director of the CVAF.

Young said that businesses outside of Regina also made the trip, travelling from places like Prince Albert, Brandon and Kelowna.

“They’re all people trying to make a little bit of money because it’s hard, right? In terms of citizens, not to be disrespectful to Regina as a relative newcomer, but there’s not a lot to do in Regina,” Young said.

“If you can afford it, you can have a cabin out of town, you can take your kids there. But if you don’t have a cabin, you can come to the street fair and you can see all the fun stuff that’s going on.”

The biggest draw is that everything is free. The CVAF spends the winter raising money and uses that money to pay the artists performing.

Though it’s the 26th official year, the festival started in 1991 with a few musicians at a party in a backyard. That concept expanded to a few houses, then a full block.

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Young said that they had 30,000 people visit when he started in 2022. This year that estimate is “at least” 50,000.

Young said that there isn’t a lot more that they can expand when it comes to vendors. This year they had a few side streets occupied with vendors that were approved by the city.

“It brings revenue and it brings a vibe and sort of pizzazz to the city for the week,” said Young. “But we have to balance that with the homeowners who live there, and the folks are pretty good. The street fair is only one day a year, but next week there’ll be a number of angry, well phrased emails coming in, saying, ‘no more.’”

This year, the CVAF partnered with Sâkêwêwak First Nations Artists’ Collective to promote more Indigenous arts. Next year, they will partner with the Regina Open Door Society in a way to welcome new citizens to the country.

Young said the CVAF had 44 different sponsors, and accumulated about $200,000. Half of the budget comes from the street fair, and the other half comes from donations.