Event organizers battle severe weather impacting festivals in Edmonton

It is peak summer festival season in Edmonton, but organizers are facing challenges due to severe weather conditions. 

From rain storms and heat waves to strong winds, this summer's weather has thrown a wrench into celebration plans throughout the city, leaving festival organizers and attendees with no choice but to take the necessary precautions. 

Edmonton's summer festivals, which typically draw large crowds with vibrant music, food, and cultural activities, have been hit hard by the unpredictable weather patterns. Over the past week, events like The Edmonton Heritage Festival have been forced to pivot. 

Due to extensive damage from a severe overnight storm, the Heritage festival shut down a day early last long weekend. The storm caused significant damage to the festival's infrastructure, including electrical, propane, and water systems.

Bruce Hogle, president of the festival association, says these extreme conditions are also a financial hit to both the events and the groups that take part in them.  

"The revenue hit for a lot of these pavilion groups as well as ourselves makes it very hard to operate next year," he says. "We are trying to ensure that we are going through the pavilions that were hit the hardest and working with them to help offset any losses."

Hogle says they've reached out to their insurance provider, but it is going to be difficult to bounce back from the damage. 

Other festivals are gearing up for potential surprises in the coming weeks. The Edmonton Folk Music Festival starts this weekend and the Fringe festival is only a week away. Both are long-standing traditions that attract music and theatre lovers from across the province and beyond. 

"The weather is a huge factor for any outdoor festival," said Terry Wickham, Folk fest's producer. "And there's no secret that weather's getting more and more extreme. 

"Some festivals are being totally cancelled, some are losing a night."

For the Folk fest, the biggest worry is bad air quality. The festival is working with Alberta Capital Airshed to monitor air quality around the venue ahead of time. 

Meteorologists have noted that this summer's unusual weather patterns are part of a broader trend linked to climate change. 

Jason Thistlethwaite is a professor in the faculty of environment at the University of Waterloo. He researches the most effective and efficient strategies for reducing risk from climate change and disasters.   

"The heat that we see in Alberta would not be as bad if it weren't for climate change," he says. "The impacts that heat builds over time, drying out things like the fuel that are leading to significant wildfire risks impacting things like cancellations of these events." 

Thistlethwaite added that climate change predictions from over decades ago are starting to materialize in the increased intensity and frequency of these disruptive extreme weather events. 

Affected festivals such as Heritage fest remain focused on recovering from the immediate impacts and supporting the affected participants. They are hoping for more favourable weather conditions next year. 

"We want to make sure that everyone is able to operate next year and we'll come back stronger than ever," says Hogle. 

For upcoming festivals, the weather forecast looks promising. But organizers say they are prepared for anything.