Close to 3,000 people turned out to the Kootenay Festival on Saturday.
Things started out “a little bit slow,” according to Audrey Polovnikoff, recreational and cultural programmer for the Castlegar and District Recreation Department, but as the weather brightened more and more people came out to celebrate.
“We had a touch of rain in the morning, pretty cloudy, but then it just cleared off and that’s when the people started coming in droves,” she said.
Things were so busy that two of the food trucks on site, X-Treme Grilled Cheeze and Tacos el Gringos, sold out of food.
“We’ll have to have more food trucks, more options, next year,” said Polovnikoff.
This year’s festival featured more vendors than ever before and Polovnikoff said she received plenty of positive feedback from them.
“How pleased they were with the organization of it, the public coming in and sales, and it was very pleasing for us as well,” she said.
Festival activities offered something for the whole family, including the Lion’s Penny Carnival for kids and all kinds of live entertainment.
Some of those who attended this year’s Kootenay Festival in Castlegar released lanterns to remember their loved ones and to celebrate their hopes for the future. The biodegradable lanterns could be purchased from the Castlegar Hospice Society and were filled with flowers, rather than candles, due to the fire ban.
A lot of volunteer time goes into organizing the festival and also into cleaning up afterward.
Polovnikoff is grateful to the Castlegar Interact Club for their help.
“They’re just so positive and so ready to work hard, and they did that for two days,” she said.
Work on next year’s Kootenay Festival begins in September and Polovnikoff says organizers will have something exciting up their sleeves.