More than 77,000 people attended this year’s Whoop Up Days events according to the Lethbridge & District Exhibition.
Great weather—minus the rainy parade day— fun attractions, the new Agri-food Hub & Trade Centre, the return of live music and free admission all helped to make this years Whoop Up Days a record-breaking event.
From August 22 to 26, 77,263 visitors attended the event, which was more than doubled last years attendance record as well as the record of 69,964 in 2007. Saturday, August 26 alone saw a new single-day record of 23,310 visitors.
“We are so grateful for the support of our community, and the incredible turnout for Whoop-Up Days,” says Mike Warkentin, Lethbridge & District Exhibition CEO. “We took a chance by going to a free admission model, fuelled by Gas King, and the community responded by showing us this is an event it cares about and that people want to visit. We couldn’t be happier and are excited to deliver an even bigger event in 2024!”
In regards to the Lethbridge & District Pro Rodeo, which was back for it’s second year, 5,116 people attended up from last years 3,224. The rodeo included competitors from World, Canadian, and Calgary Stampede champions. It’s also the only professional rodeo in Canada to feature the Relay Races.
“It was a truly phenomenal week all around, from a rodeo perspective, something that we look to build on,” says Warkentin. “We also had the Blood Tribe Finals Rodeo this year which was a new edition to our rodeo portfolio both of which we’ll look to grow in the future.”
Whoop Up Days is already set for next year, with the event running from August 20 to 24, 2024.