Battlefords Agricultural Society reports strong numbers from exhibition

It was a great week for the Battlefords Agricultural Society as it wrapped up their Northwest Territorial Days Exhibition with some great numbers.

The event ran from Aug. 17 to 19 at the exhibition grounds in North Battleford, with the parade on Aug. 16 kicking off the festivities.

General manager, Jocelyn Ritchie, couldn’t be happier.

“It was awesome,” she said. “Our attendance was up. Our midway sales were way up. So it was a good year.”

The annual exhibition is a major fundraiser for the organization.

Since the full-scale event hasn’t been held since 2019 prior to the pandemic, having strong numbers was important for this year’s event. While a fair was held in 2021, it was a much smaller attraction and did not include entertainment or shows.

The 2022 exhibition figures saw a significant increase compared to 2019, which was also a good year. About 18,000 people attended this year over the three days, while in 2019 about 15,000 attended. For an average year, the NWT Days sees around 16,000 people coming through the gates.