OLDS — Another Oldstoberfest, billed as the world’s only Bavarian rodeo, is in the books and officials are looking ahead to next year.
This year, Oldstoberfest was held Sept. 12-14 and it was the first time it’s been held for three days.
The rodeo portion was held for two days – Friday and Saturday – but it was kicked off with a biergarten and outdoor concert on Thursday.
Organizer Gillian Grant says Oldstoberfest will likely continue as a three-day event.
It’s also too early to say whether organizers will keep the Thursday to Saturday format or run it from Friday through Sunday.
She said it’s too early to know whether the rodeo portion will be extended for three – possibly even four days. However, Grant said that is the ultimate goal.
During an appearance before town council this spring, Grant said attendance at last year’s Oldstoberfest hit about 8,500. That gave organizers the confidence to expand it to a three-day event. She believes attendance this year was at least 8,000, although it’s a bit early to know the precise figure.
“We're always looking for ways to improve and obviously up attendance, so we'll take that back and see what makes sense,” she said.
“There's always going be an intention to have the rodeo three to four days.
“We're just assessing what's the best time to do that. I don't know if it'll be next year. It could be the year after. That'll be a conversation we take back.”
Grant noted that previously, Oldstoberfest was the last chance for competitors to build up points to qualify for the Canadian Finals Rodeo.
However, the rules have changed. Oldstoberfest is now essentially the first rodeo of the next year.
Grant said that could affect whether the rodeo stays as a two-day event or expands to three.
“We still are a part of the race for the National Finals Rodeo,” she noted.
She said it is possible that at least one rodeo will be held in the daytime.
“I think that's definitely a possibility.” Grant said. I think Sunday would maybe be a good day.”
Grant was pleased with the way businesses and residents got into the Oldstoberfest spirit, dressing up, holding breakfasts and decorating storefronts. She’s hopeful that will build as the years go on.
“You’ve got to train everybody, right? And it takes time,” she said.
“This is only the seventh year that this event has happened, so we believe that as the years come, things will keep going.”
Grant gave a shout-out to the ORE on its 125th birthday.
“It's really cool that the Olds Regional Exhibition has a long-standing history in this community,” she said.
“I'm an individual from the agricultural community, so it's just very cool to see that it's still going throughout the years.
“Lots of different agricultural societies are not in existence, and it's something that's always a challenge.
“We need to make sure we maintain these exhibitions and this agricultural society. It’s important for our industry, so I think that it's really great to see them hit this milestone.”
