The Canadian Western Agribition is coming to a close in Regina, with what organizers say has proved to be a record-setting 47th year soon to be in the books.
CEO Chris Lane said attendance was promising, although final numbers haven't been added up for this year's Agribition, which started Monday. He did say there was a upward trend in visitors over the first five days this year compared to 2016.
It was a debut of sorts for the livestock show and agriculture festival, as it became the first event to occupy the brand new International Trade Centre — the latest infrastructure addition at Evraz Place.
"Not only were we able to upgrade our facilities for our exhibitors and the animals that are here, but we were also able to connect all the buildings at Agribition, which is a huge deal because it means people can see other parts of the show that they might not have got to in years past," Lane said.
"I think for a lot of people, Agribition just got a whole lot bigger because of this building and it allows us to do some interesting things with programming, and we're happy about that."
Lane said the facility was needed for some time due to the number of Agribition attendees and the aging facilities it had been using.
There was also an uptick in students who visited Agribition with their classes, especially those from outside of Regina. Lane said there were probably 8,000 to 9,000 students in total.
"I think it's going to be a near-record or record-setting year for students as well," he said.
Bruce Holmquist, president of the Canadian Western Agribition, said a record number of international visitors attended Agribition, with at least 80 countries represented.
He said he spoke to people from South America, Mexico, the U.K. and Australia who were there for an international conference.
Source : CBC