Sea of people at St. Walburg blueberry fest

A 33-year tradition in west-central Saskatchewan, St. Walburg’s Wild Blueberry Festival continues to grow each year, as do the berries that helped name the festival.

As was the case in year’s past, this year’s festival took place on the fourth Saturday in August and drew upwards of 5,000 people, a major increase from the town’s population of roughly 800.

The festival, put on by the St. Walburg Chamber of Commerce, kicked off with a pancake breakfast from 8-10 a.m. at the church followed by live music throughout the day.

The streets of St. Walburg were filled with people, vendors, and classic cars as part of the event’s annual show and shine.

“There’s 124 vendors on the street today plus seven food trucks, and we also have a show and shine going on,” said one of the event’s organizers Bobby Domes.

“I’m not exactly sure how many cars we have on display today, but we were expecting 100.”

Domes also explained the annual festival acts as a family reunion with attendees and vendors coming from far and wide.

“Today is all about getting people out to see what we have to offer,” he said. “There’s vendors from Calgary, Rosetown, all over Alberta and Saskatchewan, really.”

Of course, a wild blue- berry festival wouldn’t be complete without berries, which Domes explained there were plenty of.

It will include a primary arena with seating for 2,500 people, expandable up to 4,500 with floor seats, a second full-size indoor ice surface with seating for 300500, and a third outdoor ice surface directly adjacent to the building.

The overall plan for Lloydminster’s new Event District includes many other amenities including walking paths, slo-pitch diamonds, an outdoor pavilion, powered campsites, commercial retail units, and a hotel.

“There’s over 1,200 lbs of blueberries from one vendor … we don’t really know who’s coming each year until they show up, but we have some very loyal vendors,” he said, adding the fact blue - berries usually sell out quite quickly.

“Some years we’ve been sold out by 10 a.m. … it’s 11 a.m. and we’re not quite sold out yet.”

The St. Walburg Wild Blueberry Festival is for everyone from babies to 90-year-olds, and Domes encourages anyone who hasn’t been before to come and check it out.