Whoop-Up Days runs Aug. 19-23, 2025 in Lethbridge. (Photo from the 2023 festival: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Final preparations underway for Whoop-Up Days

Aug 15, 2025 | 12:25 PM

West Coast Amusements is starting to assemble its rides, and Lethbridge & District Exhibition (LDE) is working overtime to get ready for the city’s largest summer festival.

Whoop-Up Days is set to kick off on Tuesday, August 19, and it runs until Sunday.

Paul Kingsmith, Director of Event Development at LDE, says he can feel the excitement in the air.

“Our preparations have been going so good this year, and the community feedback has been outstanding. All of our initial numbers are showing that we’re building towards something even bigger and better than we have in previous years,” says Kingsmith.

Advance ticket sales from LDE’s vendors are nearly three times higher than at the same time last year.

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“I don’t think there’s anything we can point to as one key indicator as to why things are going well, but we hope it’s just a sign that, you know, coming out of COVID, there was a lot of work to rebuild the fair from scratch,” he explains. “It’s sort of been a four or five-year process to get to where we are and get this rolling.”

The parade will serve as the official kickoff to Whoop-Up Days, getting underway at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday.

It will start at Park Place Mall, head south on 3 Street South before turning left onto 3 Ave South and then left onto 13 Street North. The final stretch is along 9 Avenue North, ending at Galbraith School.

Kingsmith says he is excited to see what exciting new floats people have come up with for this year’s parade.

Some of the other Whoop-Up Days events and activities, taking place at the Agri-food Hub & Trade Centre, include:

• West Coast Amusements Midway
• Whoop-Up Days Marketplace, Family Fun Zone and Community Stage
• Extreme Lumberjacks
• Lethbridge & District Pro Rodeo
• Magic Bean Ag Show
• Kids Pedal Tractor Pull
• Siksikaitsitapi Princess Pageant
• Siksikaitsitapi Music Showcase
• Siksikaitsitapi Powwow
• Jumbo Bites and 6th Street Sweets
• Food Truck Zone
• Original 16 Beer Garden
• Pure Power Wrestling’s Hot Summer Night
• Original 16 Stage live music
  • Headlined by Trevor Panczak on Aug. 20, Bebe Buckskin on Aug. 21, Trooper and Econoline Crush on Aug. 22, and Chad Brownlee on Aug 23
• Fireworks Finale

A new addition this year is the Whoop-Up Wrap-Up on Sunday, August 24. This is a midway-focused event with a pared-down list of activities, but admission is only $5.

Advance pricing on tickets to Whoop-Up Days and the Lethbridge & District Pro Rodeo is available until Aug. 19. Advance pricing for Pure Power Wrestling’s Hot Summer Night is available until Aug. 21.

Whoop-Up Days tickets and West Coast Amusements wristbands can be purchased in person at any Lethbridge or Picture Butte Gas King location. Tickets are also available at whoopupdays.ca.

A full list of events and information is available at whoopupdays.ca.

Whoop-Up Days runs Aug. 19-23, 2025 in Lethbridge. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

More pre-Whoop-Up Days coverage below:

Whoop-Up Days returns Aug. 19-23, 2025

Pure Power Wrestling main eventing Whoop-Up Days

Morris family named honourary Whoop-Up Days parade marshals

Whoop-Up Days to feature increased Blackfoot programming