Despite recent strife over the exclusion of the Russian pavilion from this year’s heritage festival, organizers said they are looking forward to welcoming thousands of festival goers this weekend for the 50th anniversary.
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Rob Rohatyn, executive director of the Edmonton Heritage Festival Association (EHFA), said the decision to exclude the pavilion was “very difficult.” He said they had to take their time assessing the situation before making a final call.
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“The board of directors really did their due diligence in making the decision and certainly with respect to providing a safe and secure festival for all attending, it was the decision that was made for this year and certainly it’s something that we can reassess going forward,” said Rohatyn.
On July 7, the EHFA board made the decision to exclude the Russian pavilion from the festival, even though they were previously approved in March. In a statement to Postmedia, the board said the decision to bar the Russian pavilion came after a “long consultative process” that included meetings with people from both the Ukrainian and Russian pavilions, but it ultimately became clear it was not possible to come up with a solution.
The board said it received several threats demanding that organizers do not allow the Russian pavilion to participate in the festival. It did not specify what the threats were but said it has consulted with the Edmonton Police Service and was prepared to increase security if the decision was to have the Russian pavilion participate in the festival.
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The festival is setting up at its new temporary home at Edmonton’s Exhibition Lands and Borden Park. In previous years the festival has been held at Hawrelak Park but, while it undergoes rehabilitation, the festival will take place at its new location from 2023 to 2025.
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Organizers said they plan to return to Hawrelak Park in 2026.
Despite the change in venue, Rohatyn said they are excited to see how the public explores the space. Even though it’s very different from previous years, the new site will allow for better accessibility and additional transportation options.
The venue is being split up into three sites — Racetrack, Borden Park and West Lot, which is asphalt and concrete and will be more accessible for those with mobility issues. Parking will be made available for $15 and Bird e-scooters will be expanding their range so people can use them to get to and from the festival.
Public transit will be running and accessibility shuttle services will be available to shuttle people to the festival from the Coliseum Transit Centre.
There are no new pavilions at this year’s festival. However Rohatyn said they are expecting three returning pavilions who have stepped away in previous years.
Germany, France and Croatia will be making a reappearance along with the Uyghur pavilion which joined the festival for the first time last year.
“Last year was their first year and they only sold merchandise and did some cultural entertainment and dances and this year they’re expanding to offer food items as well,” said Rohatyn.
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“We’re really excited to see a young pavilion grow and mature and participate in our festival.”
Pavilions will be providing food that can be paid by card only, but a gift card option will be available to purchase on site for those who only have cash. Additionally, pavilions will be accepting cash payments for merchandise.
Rohatyn said they are expecting anywhere from 350,000 to 400,000 people to attend over the course of the long weekend. He said with the sunny weather they hope to have a good turnout.
“The festival certainly brings out the best in our community and it’s truly a celebration of people and that’s really something that we really need to communicate and share with the world,” said Rohatyn.
The festival goes from Aug. 5-7. Admission to the festival is free.