Economic Impact of the CFR

The CFR officially wrapped up for another year on Sunday and while the exact amount of money this year’s rodeo brought in won’t be released for a few months, one thing is known, many businesses benefitted from having the rodeo in town.

“It’s one of our biggest parts of the year and next to Christmas this is it,” said Jocelyne Lambert the General Manager of Welsh’s Saddlery and Western Wear. She goes on to say with people coming in from out of town to celebrate CFR and Farmfair International people “might be be a little looser on the purse strings or the wallet.”

Not only did stores selling western wear benefit but so did businesses surrounding Northlands. Kim Engley, a server at Coliseum Steak and Pizza, says she sees a mix of customers with, “some regulars that come for the rodeo or whatever, they like to participate in the events and then we have the out-of-towners too that come, like that are actually apart of the events.”

While there was some concern earlier on in the year that the CFR would not be staying in Edmonton, Northlands and the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association announced late in October that the CFR and  Farmfair International would be returning to Northlands for another two years. This comes as welcome news to not only businesses but fans of the CFR such as Gary Skinner, a customer at Welsh’s Saddlery and Western Wear, who says he is “very happy it is back for another two years.”

As well, on November 9th, the K-Days Summer Rodeo was announced for July 21-23. This rodeo will bring in athletes from across Canada and the United States to compete for three days during the summer festival.

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