History
The Edmonton Agricultural Society organized the first local exhibition on the original Fort Edmonton site on October 15, 1879. This was the first event of its kind ever held in what was then known as the North-West Territories. Edmonton's first fair showcased locally produced livestock, grain, vegetables, and handiwork and attracted 500 people. In 1893, the organization held the city's first spring exhibition, and in 1899, the exhibition grounds were relocated to Rossdale Flats (now Telus Field). The first parade to promote the fair was held in 1903. The fair did not organize a community parade in the 1930s and 1940s.
By 1904, the exhibition, ever gaining in popularity exceeded 20,000 attendees (5,200 on opening day) and relocated to its current site in Northlands in 1910. In 1912, it was extended to six days. It continued to be held through the First World War, even though the facilities were at the disposal of the Canadian Army. A similar arrangement was made during the Second World War, though this time with the Royal Canadian Air Force.
The exhibition brought about the name Klondike Days in 1962, with the theme revolving around the Klondike Gold Rush. The public embraced the theme with relish, dressing up in period costumes for the Klondike Days opening parade.
In 2004, Northlands Park celebrated the 125th anniversary of the fair exhibition. The Klondike Days Parade was also themed to commemorate the City of Edmonton's 100th anniversary in the same year. Fair attendance continued to climb upward, having broken the 800,000 attendance mark in 2005, the time to do so. However in 2006, attendance fell to 688,369, coinciding with the year that the name of the exhibition was changed to "Capital EX". Initially this was met with both protest and excitement from citizens. Some felt a name change was unnecessary, while others felt it was time to drop "traditional themes" citing that there was no longer an interest in dressing up in Klondike-themed clothing during the week-long exhibition.
Initially, Northlands decided not to release the 2008 attendance numbers due to an agreement with the Indy Racing League. However, Northlands revised their decision and released the attendance figures showing a total of 743,374 attendees, a drop of almost 30,000 from the previous year. In 2009 the attendance dropped again, by more than 25,000, to a total of 717,966, but rebounded again by 4% in 2010 to 747,660.
Read more about this topic: Edmonton's Capital Ex
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