The parade that usually heralds the official start of the Interior Pacific Exhibition is getting put on hold this year due to staff shortages.
Licensed traffic control personnel are required along all parade routes to ensure public safety but due to staff shortages and the need for traffic control personnel in fire zone areas officials were unable to recruit the required number necessary to allow the parade to proceed.
“Therefore, we have made the difficult decision to suspend the annual IPE parade for 2023,” parade officials said.
Although the parade is cancelled, the IPE & Stampede is still on from Aug 30 to Sept. 3.
The fair offers endless food trucks, agricultural insights, rodeo events and other fan favorites like the Chuck Wagon Races, Lumberjack Shows and much more.
The animals are at the heart of the I.P.E. With multiple 4-H competitions, where kids can show off the livestock they have been taking care of for a year.
When the sun sets, it’s a whole new world at the Armstrong I.P.E. as the midway shines bright and screams and laughter can be heard through the night.
And just next door to the midway, visitors can see top talent compete at the rodeo events under the stars every evening.
On Sunday, the I.P.E. wraps up and it’s likely thousands of people will have made their way through its gates.
The fair lures tens of thousands of people through the gates every year in what’s a favourite end-of-summer tradition.