Voting to rename Capital EX came to a close Saturday and after thousands of votes cast, the summer fair’s new name could be a familiar moniker from the past.
For weeks, Edmontonians have been placing their votes on which fair name they’d like to see replace “Capital EX” for 2013 and beyond.
The six choices had been EdFest, The Edmonton Exhibition, Edmonton Summer Exhibition, K-Days, River City Festival, and River City Summer Fair.
Officials say more than 40,000 votes were cast.
Voting officially closed at 6 p.m. on Saturday and the winning name will be announced on Sunday, but officials have revealed that the top three names that received the most votes (in no particular order) are:
- K-Days
- EdFest
- The Edmonton Exhibition
For many fairgoers, the name should never have been changed from Klondike Days, which before 2006 had been what people called the annual event for four decades.
“I always call it K-Days, might as well keep it at that,” said fairgoer Ian Wheatley.
“I still call it that,” said fairgoer Cara Bowker.
In a CTV web poll, the K-Days option was also the overwhelming favourite as the name to replace Capital EX.
“I think it’s the best name,” said fairgoer Angela Ferrari.
“People got to dress up. You felt a part of it.”
Officials say the public response to the Name Your Fair contest has been overwhelming.
“We’ve received over 40,000 votes so obviously the public is really engaged in the process,” said Jennifer Sheehan with Northlands.
The winning name will be announced on Sunday at 2 p.m.
With files from Sean Amato
