Taber Cornfest returns amid surge in COVID-19 cases
It’s been a long two-year wait for the residents of Taber.
After being cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cornfest makes it’s long awaited return this weekend.
This will be the 36th time the largest free outdoor festival in southern Alberta will be held.
Co-chair of Cornfest Rick Popydnetz is just one of the many people excited for the festival’s return.
"The town's buzzing with excitement. We've got the parade happening today, we've got stage entertainment, we've got the car show on Saturday. We've even got Pure Power Wrestling showing up Saturday night. We’ve got some really great events happening around Taber.”
Cornfest features everything from a midway, live music, bull riding and of course there will be plenty of Taber corn.
While the event promises excitement for a town that’s seen few live events over the last year and a half, the threat of COVID-19 still looms large.
Alberta has seen active case numbers rise steadily for the last few weeks.
Just yesterday the province saw more than 1,000 new infections added – that’s the most since May.
Right now, Taber doesn’t have very many active COVID cases, only having recorded 33 by the end of day Aug. 25.
But recent events like the Calgary Stampede and the Medicine Hat Stampede saw a number of new infections on their grounds.
Popydnetz knows that some are concerned, but believes he and his team are taking the necessary measures.
"Every day we have an emergency operations meeting, so every morning at 8:30 we have a meeting with Alberta Health Services and our team so we're rarin' to go, so we've got all the restrictions figured out and we're going to move forward and have a great successful event."
While there may be worries the event promises to be a boost to local vendors.
One group in particular that stands to benefit the most from Cornfest will be local musicians.
"There's lots of bands that we use that are strictly from Calgary-South. We don't go any further than Lethbridge and Taber basically. So most all of the bands play here locally and we like it that way," said Mark Garner, the Cornfest stage entertainment manager.
The waiting game is over now as Sneak-a-peek Midway night begins this evening before the festival gets started for real tomorrow.
For more information on the 2021 Cornfest and its events you can visit the Taber Chamber of Commerce website.
(With files from Sean Marks)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.