(Michael Joel-Hansen/paNOW Staff)

By Michael Joel-Hansen

2020 summer fair

P.A. Ex president says organization not concerned after cancellation

May 27, 2020 | 5:22 PM

The president of the Prince Albert Exhibition is not worried after this year’s fair was cancelled.

Robbie Ross said the organization will be in a good financial position heading into next year.

“There’s a lot of unknown expenses that we have that come up with these events. There’s no guarantee that we’re going to make our investment back, so we’re sitting in not a bad spot right now,” he said.

Ross explained the cancellation will not force them to make any changes to long-term plans. He added they still have spring grants coming in, which will leave them in a better position next year.

Ross said the decision to call off the fair was influenced by a number of factors. This included the midway company calling off its season and the overall uncertainty on large scale events.

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For this year’s event Ross they expected to have around 100 to 150 vendors including non-profit groups selling tickets and running some food booths.

In the media release sent out earlier this week announcing the cancellation of the fair, the exhibition instead referenced it as a postponement. Ross said next year’s event will still be the 139^th. He added other exhibitions in the province have used similar language.

“We didn’t want other rumors to start that it [the fair] was done for good,” he said.

No fair means no beef and cattle show

With the cancellation of the fair, related events are also postponed. One of these is the beef and cattle show, which brings displayers from across Western Canada to the city to show their animals.

Dale Shillington, director in charge of the show’s committee, said the P.A. event is qualifier for Agribition in Regina and one of the largest in Western Canada.

“It’s going to hurt everyone,” he said.

Shillington said many people who show animals plan their holidays around the event, with many bringing their families. He explained the show has only been cancelled one time in recent memory and that was a result of animal disease in the area.

(Michael Joel-Hansen/paNOW Staff)

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MichaelJoel.Hansen@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @mjhskcdn