K-Days and Heritage Festival celebrate big turnout, successes in 2016

The fact that many Albertans are tightening their purse strings didn’t seem to stifle the crowds at Northlands’ K-Days festival.

This year’s attendance was up 2.3 per cent over 2015 to reach 803,087 total guests.

READ MORE: Edmonton’s K-Days by the numbers 

Northlands’ CEO and president Tim Reid credits the turnout to the entertainment value the event offers.

“With our K-Days concert series we saw 20 acts over 10 days on two stages,” Reid said. “In addition to the amazing calibre of music, our partnership with the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation to present a 10-day Pow Wow and all of our family-friendly entertainment throughout the grounds; we believe we provided tremendous value for the entertainment dollar for Edmontonians and Northern Albertans.”

Watch below: Northlands hopes the momentum from another successful K-Days will send a clear message to city council that when it comes to investing in the future, councillors should look to the northeast. Shallima Maharaj has the details.

1:50 Northlands hopes K-Days success bodes well for future

Watch below: The 2016 edition of K-Days has just wrapped up and as the deadline looms for city council to decide on the future of Northlands, CEO Tim Reid spoke with Nancy Carlson about the future of both the organization and of K-Days.

4:15 Northlands’ CEO speaks about organization’s future

K-Days helps raise money for the Stollery Children’s Hospital and the Northlands Agriculture Education fund.

READ MORE: ‘He loves going on rides’: K-Days caters to special needs kids at Monday Morning Magic 

Northlands will speak about what the response to K-Days 2016 means for the fair’s future and for the company’s Vision 2020 Tuesday afternoon.

READ MORE: New $165M vision for Northlands includes 7-sheet ice facility, outdoor concert space 

Meanwhile, Heritage Festival is celebrating another successful year, especially the event’s last day.

Executive Director Jim Gibbon is “ecstatic about the attendance at Monday’s Servus Heritage Festival.” On the third day, the festival saw about 135,000 guests – the third highest single-day attendance.

READ MORE: Severe thunderstorm Saturday puts a damper on outdoor festivals 

Gibbon said Monday was a bright spot after some rough weather.

READ MORE: Edmonton Food Bank collects just 50% of donation goal at largest event of year 

The 2016 estimated total attendance was 300,000.

In 2014, the festival saw a record number of guests, with 350,000 attending over the course of three days.

Heritage Festival raises funds and food donations for the Edmonton Food Bank.