One of the recurring themes that we’ve heard in the community in the past year or two is having events that create a buzz in the city.
We saw it earlier this year with the Rafferty Rumble. The resurrected event was an unquestionable hit: a fun weekend that had activities in the morning and the afternoon for the entire family, and then an outdoor street dance at night with live music and plenty of revelry.
It created a lot of traffic in downtown Estevan that was obviously good news for local merchants, it was an opportunity for local non-profits to promote themselves, it was an incredibly successful fundraiser for the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum, and it even introduced talented Saskatchewan musicians to the Energy City.
There was a tremendous level of excitement for the Rumble before it happened, and it certainly lived up to the hype. The excitement didn’t subside after the event, either, and it left people hoping for a return of the Rumble in 2020.
It was great to see such excitement in the community, and you could feel the buzz generated by the Rumble well after it was finished.
We’ve seen other examples in the past couple of years of events that generate a buzz. The Canada Cup of Curling put a national spotlight on Estevan and allowed us to showcase our facilities, most notably Affinity Place, and our people.
The concerts that we have had at Affinity Place the last two years have generated a lot of excitement in the city, and have also yielded a good return for our hotels and restaurants. Hopefully these events can continue.
A couple of recent announcements will also create that buzz that we’re looking for.
The first is the Estevan Fair and the Estevan Rodeo being held on the same weekend for the first time in more than 20 years. Many people have been pining for the return of the days when the Estevan Exhibition Association’s two marquee events were held together; they are about to get their wish.
For a long time, it appeared they would forever remain separated.
The first weekend of June is going to be a very busy time indeed, thanks to the fair and rodeo. You’re going to have the fair taking place over four days instead of two or three, and it’s going to be on a weekend instead of just weekdays.
You’re going to have the Estevan Sings competition for two nights, the rodeo over two nights, a concert at Affinity Place that features Gord Bamford and Jess Moskaluke, and all of the other events traditionally associated with Estevan’s fair and rodeo.
It definitely will create a buzz for Estevan.
The other event will be the 2022 Centennial Cup national junior A hockey championship. This is one that people have been waiting to see in Estevan since Affinity Place opened back in 2011. This city proved it was capable of hosting an event of this scale with the 2016 Western Canada Cup tournament, which, from a financial perspective, was the best of the five Western Canada Cup events.
Now Estevan is going to host a national championship. And when you look at the talent that has played in the Centennial Cup in the past, you understand why this is a big deal from a hockey perspective.
It will also be a big deal from a community perspective. This is one of those events that brings hundreds, if not thousands, of people to Estevan to eat in our restaurants, stay in our hotels and visit our stores. We get to show everyone how great our people are and how great the community is.
Previous editions of the tournament have had a $3 million spinoff. It’s probably a realistic expectation to have that kind of a spinoff here.
Of course, these “buzz” events require a lot of manpower and considerable support from volunteers. That’s why we have to be smart with them, and not risk burning out the volunteer base that makes them happen.
It’s great to have them each year, but you can have too much of a good thing.
