The Battlefords Agricultural Society is bringing two new attractions to the 127th edition of the Northwest Territorial Days, running from Aug. 11 to 15.
A vintage car show and an acrobatics show from the Nerveless Nocks will be at the exhibition for the first time.
The car show will be like a "show and shine," says Battlefords Agricultural Society general manager Jocelyn Ritchie. The goal for the three-day event beginning Wednesday afternoon is for 20 cars, from vintage to hot rods, to be signed up for the show that doesn't have an entry fee. The removal of the rink boards from the Agriplex helped to make the car show a possibility.
"I've been thinking about a car show for the last couple of years," says Ritchie. "However, saying that, I didn't have the indoor space and enough outdoor space to facilitate it. This year we do. Hopefully, it'll be a good first and it'll grow from there."
The Battefords Vintage Auto Club is participating in the event and are organizing demonstrations during the show, including instructions on how to restore a car. A vintage tow truck, which the club is in the process of restoring, will also be on display to show people the process.
The Nerveless Nocks, the other act set to make their exhibition debut, will perform their "sensational sky-high swaypoles" act in the Battlefords. According to the Northwest Territorial Days Fairbook, the Nerveless Nocks have performed across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Ritchie says in order to book the acrobats to perform, they had to co-operate with other festivals and exhibitions to create a circuit.
"For [the Nerveless Nocks] to come up to Canada, they need a whole bunch of dates or it's just not worth their while. That's how we go about it. As a group, we try to plan out our entertainment for the year together to see how we can co-operate."
The acrobats will be performing multiple shows from Wednesday to Friday.
Once again, the parade kicks off the Northwest Territorial Days. Beginning at the Civic Centre Monday night at 7 p.m., the parade will follow the same route as last year. The theme of this year's parade is "Let's Be Neighbours" to "celebrate the multicultural people in our community," says Ritchie.
The parade has already received more than 80 entrants, with more expected prior to the Aug. 8 deadline. However, Ritchie says people will still try to sign up on the day of the parade, but that course of action is strongly discouraged.
Events begin at the exhibition grounds Tuesday evening with chariot and chuckwagon races. Wednesday is the first day of the midway, once again set up by West Coast Midway.
Also beginning Wednesday are the livestock shows, which are part of the origins of the Northwest Territorial Days. Included in the shows are pig races, dog shows, sheep shows and 4-H light horse competitions. The light horse event is part of the heritage circuit, which features riders who travel from show to show in order to earn points, explained Ritchie.
The exhibition also features draft horse competitions, of which the Battlefords Agricultural Society is especially proud.
"We have one of the very few existing draft horse shows left in Western Canada," says Ritchie.
Grandstand shows begin Wednesday night with mentalist David Thiel, who Ritchie describes as "awesome."
"You see on TV where they put things in a sealed envelope with names and dates and weird things, well, he can do that."
Thursday night features the rock and roll band Constant Reminder, an Aboriginal group from James Smith First Nation.
The final night of the event features the always popular demolition derby, which will feature 24 cars crashing into each other this year. After the main derby, there will be a powder puff derby if there are any cars left. The derby starts at 6 p.m., but Ritchie warns attendees to get there early for good seats. The grandstands, hill and the area surrounding the track are usually packed "wall to wall" with people.
The four-day event is put together by the Battlefords Agricultural Society, a non-profit organization with three full-time employees. They usually hire two summer students and, when counting all of the food booths, have well over 300 volunteers helping to make the exhibition run smoothly.
Ritchie says "people don't realize" the society applies for provincial and national grants in order to run the exhibition.
"They think we make lots of money, but it costs a lot of money to bring in the entertainers."
This event, which can bring in upwards of 20,000 people according to Ritchie, is the biggest of the year for the Agricultural Society.
"It's very significant," says Ritchie. "We have our own little town out here basically."
