Heritage Festival adds extra hour after Sunday shutdown caused by strong winds

The City of Edmonton has extended the final day of the Heritage Festival by one hour after strong winds forced organisers to close the event early on Sunday.

The festival at William Hawrelak Park will now run until 9:00 PM on Monday instead of its scheduled closing time.

According to a festival news release, Sunday's severe weather disrupted the annual event, which is recognised as the world's largest three-day multicultural celebration and features food, music and dance from 80 cultural groups.

Mayor Andrew Knack said the early closure “immediately impacted organizations that rely on the festival as an important fundraising opportunity to support community programming through the year.”

Heritage Festival Association executive director Rob Rohatyn thanked the mayor for “decisive action” and praised city officials for helping cultural pavilions recover some of the losses caused by the weather disruption.

The city said it has coordinated additional police, emergency medical services and traffic management to support the extended opening hours.

Park and ride transit services will continue operating between 8:00 PM and 9:00 PM, although at a reduced capacity.

Organisers also urged visitors to plan ahead, saying: “We strongly encourage attendees staying through the evening to plan their trips ahead of time and allow for extra travel time when heading home.”