CANORA - After a successful Canora Live & Play Street Festival in 2021, the Town of Canora Tourism Committee joined forces with the Canora Ag Society for a bigger and better community celebration on Aug. 20 and 21. Canora Ag Days chariot and chuckwagon races and gymkhana events were held on the Canora Sports Grounds both days, while the Street Festival excitement was in the downtown area on Aug. 20.
Brandi Zavislak, community development officer, said it was pretty much impossible to get a specific attendance count, but volunteers working with her to put on the Street Festival were confident that there were several thousand people on the streets of Canora for the activities.
“It was a huge success, we have seen it grow immensely since last year,” reported Zavislak. “The 2021 event raised $10,000 for the Tourism Committee, this year’s total will be about double that.”
Zavislak said there were many highlights of the downtown activities during the Street Festival.
“We had between 75 and 100 vendors. It was a great turnout. A lot of people were drawn to the Cruisers Car Show along Main Street. The Assiniboine River Archery Club concession did a wonderful job of feeding everyone with minimal lineups. The Saturday Evening Cabaret with The Crawdaddys was excellent with a really good turnout,” she reported.
“Everyone commented on what a huge event our small community was throwing. Visitors, including people who used to live here, were amazed how things have improved so much, even just since last year. Canora and area residents take great pride in our community and love to see the streets packed with people.”
The Street Festival could not have taken place without a lot of hard work from a large group of people.
“So many visitors told me they were blown away by how well-planned the event was,” continued Zavislak. “There were many volunteers who put in countless hours, including: Canora-Pelly MLA Terry Dennis, Gina Rakochy, Anne Shilvert, Morgan Homeniuk, Barb Messenger, Kristen Gabora, Jodie Kowalyshyn, Kelly MacTavish, Brad Gabora, Deb Gabora, Michael Leslie, Chris Danyluk, Megan Scherban, Simone Homeniuk, Gladys Zavislak, Karen Wilgosh, Councillor Denise Leslie, Councillor Dave Wasyliw, Councillor Jackie Fetchuk and her husband Mike, and Mayor Mike Kwas and his wife Jessica. Kris Currie and Robbie Taylor from Canora Public Works also put in a lot of hours on Saturday.”
Zavislak said working together with the Canora Ag Society for the weekend’s events turned out to be a great fit.
“Our Tourism Committee set the date for the Live & Play Street Festival last year, and pretty much everyone liked that weekend, so we kept it for this year,” explained Zavislak. “Just about everyone in and around Canora is back from holidays, but it’s before students go back to school. And for most farmers, harvest is not yet in full swing. For the Canora Ag Society, choosing this weekend allowed them to get back on the circuit for chuckwagon and chariot racing and gymkhana events. So it turned out to be a huge community celebration. And with our committee’s past experience, we were able to help with things like advertising for Ag Days. They bring something wonderful to Canora. And people from the racing circuit found their way over to the Street Festival and really seemed to enjoy it.”
Zavislak says it’s important to remember that weekends like this support local businesses and improvements to Canora, including things like new welcome signs.
“If you’re not happy with how things are in town, join a committee and make a difference,” she concluded.
