The City of Edmonton has done an about-face regarding the capacity of the beer gardens at CariWest after inquiries from Global News, the latest example of a decision by city administration being reversed after questions from the media.
CariWest is a festival showcasing Caribbean music, cuisine and culture. Annamaria Edwards, president of the Western Carnival Development Association, which produces CariWest, said Friday morning the city had capped capacity at its beer garden, also known as the rum gardens, this year at 750 people.
It’s an increase from last year when 650 people were allowed; roughly 500 people were permitted two years ago, she said.
READ MORE: Annual Cariwest Festival celebrates carnival culture in Edmonton
However, Edwards said even a capacity of 750 was not enough. In comparison, this year, the Design and Works Festival had a capacity of 1,400 at its beer garden and Taste of Edmonton had a capacity of 3,400 at its “taste piazza.”
“On Saturday, there are huge line-ups after the parade because we have a huge amount of people that come down and are thirsty.”
Edwards said, despite bringing the issue up with the city multiple times, she did not receive a definitive answer about why capacity remained low. She also said the rum garden is critical for the sustainability of the festival.
“The rum garden is our main source of income that carries us over to the next year,” Edwards said.
On Friday afternoon, city officials told Global News that it had decided to increase the capacity of the beer garden.
“It just came to my attention,” said Julie Stormer, supervisor of festivals and events for the City of Edmonton, when asked what had changed.
When pressed by Global News about how CariWest organizers said they brought it up repeatedly with city officials, including during a meeting on Thursday, Edwards reiterated her earlier response.
“I wasn’t aware that 750 wasn’t adequate so when I did, we responded.”
Stormer said the capacity now will be 932, with the possibility it will increase even more in the future.
She said the change came about partly because of questions from Global News.
“I want to be able to work with festivals. I encouraged CariWest to just reach out to me and talk to me directly if they have some concerns about that. I want to be able to come up with solutions prior to their festival date,” Stormer said.
When reached Friday afternoon, Edwards said that she was satisfied with the increased capacity, adding she is glad that she has been heard by the city. She told Global News earlier that her ideal capacity for the beer gardens would have been 1,500.
“The rum garden is the main source of revenue that helps us keep our festival going,” Edwards said. “The city promised to keep the discussion open so we can look at expanding it so it’s more in line with what other festivals have for a rum garden.”
The issue comes one day after Mayor Don Iveson sounded off about some decisions being made by city staff.
“I’m not getting the sense that the City of Edmonton is being all that helpful, and that pisses me off.”
Iveson cited other examples of head-scratching decisions, including the one to remove memorial plaques from city benches, the banning of food trucks at Terwillegar dog park and the conversion of the wading pool in front of city hall.
Iveson said sometimes there are regulatory constraints, but the city has to do a better job of communicating why the decisions are made.
CariWest kicks off Friday night and celebrations will take place around downtown Edmonton over three days.
-with files from Scott Johnston
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