Downtown Prince Albert was a bustling place on Saturday afternoon as the Downtown Street Fair returned for the first time since 2019.
Co-executive director Rhonda Trusty of the Prince Albert Downtown Business Improvement District (PADBID) was happy to see so many people back in the downtown on Saturday.
“I was very pleased with the turnout, very happy with the support of the business community and the vendors,” Trusty said. “The music lineups were absolutely wonderful and just the fact that so many people chose to spend their Saturday with us in the downtown made it a lot of fun.”
Trusty said they did not have an exact count on crowd numbers, but was happy with the attendance regardless of what the final total was.
“I don’t know what a realistic number is. I am just pleased with the turnout,” she explained.
“Because we are so weather dependant I was just feeling pretty grateful that day for sunshine.”
The event featured a variety of vendors and entertainment stretching all the way up Central Avenue. Trusty said they tried to have a good variety so attendees young and old for find something of interest.
“The main goal is always to support businesses downtown and to encourage people to not only visit the Street Fairs, but to continue coming to the downtown and explore the unique shops that we have here,” she explained.
“Street Fair is an opportunity just to remind people of that. The variety of our shops and the variety of the vendors that we had, I think, is just a reflection of the diversity in our city.”
Saturday’s Street Fair featured three musical stages throughout the day, with one at 11th Street, one at 14th Street and one on the steps of City Hall. Trusty said she was proud of the performances put together by all of the organizers.
There were also Jugglers and street performers at the Memorial Square and countless ways to keep people of all ages enthralled.
“The jugglers, I mean they are always a hit and our lineups for the face painting and the balloon lady, the Princesses, the mascots, they just all add a different element. The Classic Car Show is always more appealing for probably older folks as that was their generation of vehicles, so it’s always a nice reminder to have the classic cars,” she said.
The Street Fair also featured a number of fundraisers, including “Fill up the Bus” for the Prince Albert Food Bank.
“I was so pleased to see that they had done well,” Trusty said. “Again, it’s just a testament to the giving nature of the City of Prince Albert and its people.”
PADBID will also have their second Downtown Sidewalk Sale next month. They also have sidewalk sales planned for July 23, August 20 and September 24, each from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“With the Sidewalk Sales we are just, again, trying to encourage people to come down and explore their downtown,” Trusty explained. “We have a lot to offer. Our arts community is fantastic. Our cultural element to our city is so diverse. We have a lot of history in our downtown and just longstanding businesses, and I think we sometimes forget and sometimes take it for granted. It’s important for the city to just appreciate what we have.”
The event could not have happened without all of the support from the City and the countless people who helped it be such as success, according to Trusty.
“I was just very grateful for the support that I received from the business community, those that were with cash and others that were in kind,” she said. “I’m hoping to just continue to build relationships with the business community. You want to be able to have a working and collaborative relationship with people and to support each other.”
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
