EDMONTON – The results of the Name Your Fair contest are in, and the people have spoken, voting the new name of Capital Ex to be a version of the old one: K-Days.
More than 51,000 people cast their votes during the re-naming contest, and about 75 percent of those votes were for the familiar choice.
“It was a runaway, it was a landslide by any measure – very impressive,” says President and CEO of Northlands, Richard Andersen.
The other options were River City Festival, River City Summer Fair, Edmonton Summer Exhibition, EdFest, and The Edmonton Exhibition. In the final weekend, the choices were narrowed down to the latter two and the winning selection.
The name of the fair was originally rebranded to Capital Ex in 2006. For 44 years before that, the exhibition was known as Klondike Days, a theme centered around the Klondike Rush.
And that’s exactly what 76 year-old Alma Falardeau has always remembered it as.
“We moved here in ’66 and I’ve missed one year of dressing up,” she said at Sunday’s announcement while wearing her Klondike-themed outfit. “It was one of the things Edmonton was known for and it’s a part of our history.”
But with “Klondike” dropped, it begs the question, what does the “K” stand for now?
Anderson says that has “yet to be determined.”
“But certainly it will reference the past but look to the future,” he explains. “I’m sure we’ll find a way to honour the past and the Klondike experience as well.”
Northlands says it won’t be until the fall that they have a clearer vision of what exactly the theme will be. Much like the Name Your Fair contest, though, it will rely heavily on public consultation and opinion.
In the meantime, many people are just excited to have “K-days” back.
“I’m pumped,” says Atif Farhat. “I can’t wait to get here for next year. I’ll be bringing out my Klondike stuff and wearing it all!”
With files from Jenna Bridges, Global News
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