The CEO of the Red River Ex says his staff is working hard to keep the annual summer fair safe for families again this year.
The Ex, a local staple for more than a half-century, experienced some turbulence in 2022, when a young boy was caught in the crossfire of a shooting at the site. CEO Garth Rogerson told 680 CJOB’s Connecting Winnipeg that security measures have been overhauled for this year’s fair, which kicks off Friday.
“I’ve dug heavily into this. We’ve analyzed every section of the park and we’re changing around how we operate. We’re doing double-fencing, we’ve got cameras,” Rogerson said.
“Everybody’s on camera when they come in. We actually have a team that is going to be watching the cameras for suspicious behaviour.”
The Ex, Rogerson said, has long held a reputation as a safe, family-friendly event. That’s a reputation the organization behind the annual fair intends to maintain — which isn’t the easiest task for a site that can attract more people than the population of Portage la Prairie over a single weekend.
“We’re constantly looking at security and how we can improve,” he said. “We had a problem last year, and that is absolutely unacceptable. … That was very upsetting, and we’re going to make sure we tighten things up significantly.
“Even five years ago, we didn’t have to go to this extreme, but now we have to be extremely vigilant. … (We have to) make sure that we plug every single hole, and we’re repositioning some of the guards to areas that could be problematic.
“It’s a family place and people want to come here and feel safe and have a good time and we’re going to have absolutely no bad behaviour.”
On a more positive note, Rogerson said the Ex continues to improve its offerings year over year, with the introduction of new rides — including an exciting new “concept ride” that just arrived, direct from the manufacturer, as well as a new roller coaster. There are also new food vendors, and more live entertainment than ever.
Among the live concerts happening on the various Ex stages this year are shows by the Northern Pikes, Delaney Jane, and a host of local acts — including tribute bands playing the music of Led Zeppelin, Ozzy Osbourne, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, and more.
Plus, the weather is looking like it’ll be cooperative, at least for now.
“It’s fair weather,” Rogerson said. “It’s a nice time to go out.”