Hailed a hero for the way he and his team responded to the Fort McMurray wildfire, Wood Buffalo Fire Chief Darby Allen has been named one of this year’s K-Days Parade marshals.
Allen will be joined by his Edmonton counterpart, Fire Chief Ken Block. The pair will also lead this year’s K-Days Parade with Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson and Melissa Blake, the mayor of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. A number of first responders will also lead the way as this year’s parade makes its way through the streets of downtown Edmonton Friday, July 22.
Northlands made the announcement Monday morning, saying this year’s K-Days Parade will honour the bravery, hard work and sacrifice of those who risked it all to keep Alberta strong during the Fort McMurray wildfire.
READ MORE: ‘We should be proud’: Fire Chief Darby Allen opens up about Fort McMurray wildfire
The names of four Local Heroes were also announced Monday morning. Nominated by members of the public, the Local Heroes are deserving members of the public who receive a $2,500 donation towards a charity or not-for-profit of their choice. They also act as honorary K-Days Parade marshals.
Brenda Der, Kevin Langille, Nicole Baker and Haylen Astalos are this year’s Local Heroes.
READ MORE: Meet 4 inspiring Albertans: K-Days’ 2016 Local Heroes
The festival also announced some of new food available on the midway this summer. Among the new items, Oreo rice, deep fried coffee and poutine corn dogs. Plus, who wouldn’t want to try a mac n’ cheese-stuffed burger? What about a pickle dog?
A huge emphasis is being put on the music lineup this year, with two stages hosting concerts throughout the festival. Northlands CEO Tim Reid said the investment in entertainment nearly doubled this year. When the concert lineup was announced in May, Reid said the entertainment venues will be a test for Northlands as it continues to ponder its future without the Edmonton Oilers.
In particular, it will be a test for the proposed urban festival site, which is set to take over the racetrack and casino.
“With 10 days of concerts, our hope is to work with the community and get a sense of what the sound impact is. We heard commentary from the neighbourhood that they wanted us to be respectful and engaged so we’ve said we’re going to trial it at a time where everybody’s accustomed to having noise in the community,” Reid said in May.
READ MORE: K-Days entertainment lineup a ‘test’ for Northlands with future up in the air
This year’s K-Days festival runs July 22 to 31. Tickets are on sale now through the K-Days website.
READ MORE: Edmonton 2016 summer festivals and events
There was a push on social media earlier this month to have Allen named the Calgary Stampede parade marshal. However, the festival announced singers Paul Brandt and Jann Arden would fill the role.
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