Excite Lethbridge has announced something different for this summer’s Whoop-Up Days.
The 2026 festival kicks off with the parade on August 18, and the organization is looking for a parade marshal.
With that, Excite Lethbridge has announced the Whoop-Up Days Community Parade Marshal program. Community members are being asked to nominate a deserving individual or group to serve in the role of parade marshal. This will be the first time someone is nominated by community members and chosen by a selection committee.
“Our community knows best who is worthy of representing it as a parade marshal, so we want to have Lethbridge and southern Alberta involved in the process,” says Sydney Koppe, director of community engagement for Excite Lethbridge.
“The parade marshal will be nominated and chosen not just for their accomplishments, but for the impact they’ve made. They’ll represent our shared stories and deep-rooted connections that bring us together and we are so excited to see who our community will bring forward as nominees.”
Officials say eligible nominees will be judged on such criteria as community involvement, leadership, achievements or contributions, and alignment with the 2026 parade theme, which is ‘Midway Magic’. Excite Lethbridge says the theme celebrates “the timeless charm of the classic Whoop-Up Days Midway”.
Officials remark that the midway is more than rides and games and represents “connection, excitement, and the spirit of community that defines Whoop-Up Days”.
The organization adds that like the midway, the parade marshal will be an individual or group that brings “a sense of community and fun wherever they go”.
In recent years, parade marshals have included the owners and founders of Gas King, the Morris family in 2025, rodeo stock contractor Duane Kesler in 2024, musician Corb Lund in 2023, and the Chiefs of the Blackfoot Confederacy in 2022.
READ MORE: Local family and Gas King owners named honorary Whoop-Up Days Parade marshals
Nominations for this summer’s parade marshal are open until March 13.
Submissions can be made through the Whoop-Up Days website.
