'Smiling, happy, and well-fed': Taste of Edmonton festival to exceed 2019 attendance
Taste of Edmonton organizers and vendors celebrated the last day of the annual festival with high spirits.
Donovon Vienneau, Taste of Edmonton general manager, said the festival had a strong showing with attendance expected to be higher than in 2019 – the last time the festival was celebrated before pandemic cancellations. The festival saw 250,000 people attend in 2019.
According to Vienneau, the festival will beat those numbers this year after attendance from Sunday is included in the tally.
“Lots of great energy around,” he said. “Seeing smiling, happy, and well-fed Edmontonians coming to Taste of Edmonton was absolutely spectacular.”
Vienneau said this year was one of the driest festivals in recent memory – only six hours of rain happened throughout the event.
“It’s been a lot of years since we’ve had a dry Taste of Edmonton.”
He added that while the festival has been running for 37 years, the COVID-19 pandemic presented new challenges never faced before.
“We endured and got through it,” Vienneau said. “We are happy Edmontonians came out in droves.
“We’ve got a lot of takeaways that we are going to take from this year and still have in 2022 and beyond.”
More than 1,000 volunteers helped bring the event to fruition this year. Vienneau said the event team is already planning for next year’s event.
“We look forward to seeing everybody back on July 21 to 31, 2022.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Maple Leafs eliminated from NHL playoffs with Game 7 OT loss to Bruins
Sheldon Keefe told his players hockey history would remember them one way or another.
Israel says Hamas attacks a crossing point into Gaza, wounding 10 Israelis and forcing its closure
Hamas militants on Sunday attacked Israel's main crossing point for delivering humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, reportedly wounding several Israelis and prompting Israel to close the terminal.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
What a judge's gag order on Trump means in his hush money case
A gag order bars Trump from commenting publicly on witnesses, jurors and some others connected to the matter. The New York judge already has found that Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, repeatedly violated the order, fined him US$9,000 and warning that jail could follow if he doesn't comply.
Amid climate change warnings, Canadians lukewarm on electric vehicles
Amid scientists' warnings that nations need to transition away from fossil fuels to limit climate change, Canadians are still lukewarm on electric vehicles, according to a study conducted by Nanos Research for CTV News.
Trudeau 'absolutely' best person to lead the Liberals in next election: LeBlanc says
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc insists he's not planning a leadership campaign to head the Liberal party, should current leader and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resign, seemingly quashing rumours he's planning to make a move for his boss' job.
Netanyahu's Cabinet votes to close Al Jazeera offices in Israel after rising tensions
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that his government has voted unanimously to shut down the local offices of Qatar-owned broadcaster Al Jazeera, escalating Israel's long-running feud with the channel at a time when cease-fire negotiations with Hamas — mediated by Qatar — are gaining steam.
King Charles III’s openness about cancer has helped him connect with people in year after coronation
King Charles III's decision to be open about his cancer diagnosis has helped the new monarch connect with the people of Britain and strengthened the monarchy in the year since his dazzling coronation at Westminster Abbey.