(FIle photo/paNOW Staff)

By Glenn Hicks

street events

Downtown Street Fair expands to deal with record-breaking vendor list

Jun 13, 2019 | 12:31 PM

This year’s running of the Downtown Street Fair will look a whole lot different to how the first offering did 16 years ago. Organizers say such is the demand for space, they will be blocking off parts of River Street for the first time ever Saturday in addition to the usual cordoning off of Central Avenue.

“The first year the Street Fair started there were just a few vendors and a fire truck,” Carolyn Carleton with the Downtown Business Improvement District told paNOW with a laugh. “Now, just to see how full it is and having to close off River Street, it’s just so exciting to see it growing. We have vendors coming from Saskatoon and Regina who are booking hotel rooms.”

Parts of River St. on either side of the museum will be blocked off as Saturday’s Street Fair expands.(Glenn Hicks/paNOW Staff)

Carleton labelled the 120 vendors who had registered “record-breaking” and added everybody always mentioned how River Street was under-utilized for such a key event so it made sense to close it too. She said both sides next to the museum would be cordoned off to accommodate the extra interest and activities.

The day runs from 10 a.m. through 6 p.m. The Traffic Unit with the P.A.Police Service (PAPS) said the streets would be blocked off around 9:30 a.m. Saturday and free transit would be provided all day long, including to the downtown transfer station at 14^th Ave. E. PAPS added they would be on hand patrolling and handing out balloons and stickers for kids throughout the day. The closure of River Street is between First Ave.E. and First Ave.W. for the fair. Carleton figured the last vendors wold be packed up by 7:30 p.m. so the closed streets would be open by then.

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Billed as the year’s biggest free public event in the city, Street Fair offers a multitude of stalls, activities, three live entertainment stages, a new carnival near the river bank, and free admission to the museum. And of course there will be food — lots of it.

“We have 20 food vendors, “Carleton said. “They’ll be spread out across Central Avenue and River Street.”

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow