For Immediate Release
June 1, 2021
Edmonton, Alberta: Last week, Premier Kenney announced Alberta’s ‘Open for Summer’ plan to safely reduce, and ultimately remove, public health restrictions. We are all looking forward to gathering with friends and family again, and we are looking forward to experiencing live events again.
Following Premier Kenney’s announcement, we at Northlands took a hard look at whether we could deliver a high-quality event given limited timelines and resources. Following discussions with the City of Edmonton and Explore Edmonton, Northlands has made the difficult decision that K-Days will not take place this summer. Rather than having an event simply to have it in 2021, we want to work with our stakeholders and partners on relaunching K-Days in 2022.
We also recognize that many other signature Edmonton festivals are working towards holding modified versions of their events this summer. By taking K-Days off the schedule, it creates more space for these wonderful festivals to start rebuilding.
We want to acknowledge all the hard work our colleagues at the Calgary Stampede have put into reimagining their event for this year. We wish them the very best and we know they will deliver a top tier event, setting the standard for how to deliver a major event under our current circumstances.
In terms of 2022 and beyond, Northlands is currently in talks with Explore Edmonton, facilitated by the City of Edmonton, about the future of both K-Days and Farmfair International. Everyone involved is deeply committed to finding the best path forward for delivering exciting and sustainable events for years to come.
Finally, it takes hundreds of staff and thousands of volunteers to deliver K-Days in a normal year. The event could not happen without all these incredible people and we want to thank them all so very much for their commitment. We know that they will understand why this difficult decision is the right one.