Exhibition Park COO Mike Warkentin. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Exhibition Park working with event organizers in wake of COVID-19

Mar 13, 2020 | 11:36 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Nothing has been canceled, but upcoming events at Exhibition Park may need to be rescheduled.

Exhibition Park COO Mike Warkentin originally issued a statement early Thursday afternoon that they were still going ahead with all currently-planned events, but after the provincial government recommended the cancellations of most public gatherings with 250+ people later that afternoon, the group has changed their stance.

They have postponed the Home and Garden Trade Show, which was originally scheduled to run from March 18-21.

“Home and Garden is our second-highest attended event here at Exhibition Park. Obviously, it’s one that everyone waits for year-round,” says Warkentin. “It’s kind of the unofficial kick-off to spring here in southern Alberta, so it’s certainly unfortunate, but obviously the importance of health and safety is the key priority here.”

According to the event’s official website, they were expecting as many as 275 exhibitors and up to 13,000 attendees.

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The Home and Garden Show was the first major event of 2020 that was produced by Exhibition Park. There are, however, a series of other events being put on by other organizers in the coming months.

The next couple of events include the Lethbridge Unveiled Bridal Fair on March 29, the Pet / Comic Expo on April 4, and Aggie Days from April 8-9.

“We’re going to be communicating with each of the event planners that have rentals here at Exhibition Park and working directly with them to have a full understanding of what their attendance looks like and what the plan for us as a business looks like moving forward.”

Warkentin says it is unclear how long the COVID-19 pandemic will carry on for so it is hard to make any concrete plans at this point.

Once the situation cools down, however, he hopes event organizers will return rather than having them outright cancel.