A severe thunderstorm that swept through Edmonton on Friday evening left a trail of damage across the city, but summer festivals and organizers are counting themselves lucky that no one was hurt.
Festival Crews Battle to Save Equipment
At Found Festival in Old Strathcona, eight crew members clung to a 300-square-foot pavilion tent as a grey-green wall of clouds approached from the northwest. “It was all hands on deck trying to save as much as we could,” said Mac Brock, the arts festival’s managing producer. “One of our technicians, Mike Tully, had the quote of the night: ‘Forget the tents, get the equipment in the truck!’”
The storm, which produced tornado alerts in St. Albert and neighbouring counties, downed power lines, felled trees, and caused flash flooding. Telus World of Science sustained extensive water damage, forcing its closure until further notice. Yellowhead Trail and 97 Street north of 111 Avenue were also flooded.
Whyte Avenue Artwalk Escapes Major Harm
Next door, the Whyte Avenue Artwalk had wrapped for the day. Producer Jill Roszell watched a traffic light at 104 Street and 83 Avenue buckle into the roadway. “It just all came down. It looked like a movie,” she said. About nine of the 40 or 50 tents stored overnight were damaged. Roszell noted that some artists living south of the city were unaware of the storm until they returned. “We had artists who were on the south side who had no idea what was going on,” she said.
Painter Lori Frank was among those picking up the pieces Saturday. “We were trying to assemble piles of things — tent walls here, weights there, and display grids. It was pretty shocking, but bottom line is nobody was hurt.”
Telus World of Science Flooded
Telus World of Science began taking on water around 7:40 p.m. Friday, prompting an evacuation. President and CEO Constance Scarlett said in a news release, “I am incredibly grateful to everyone who helped keep our guests safe and to the City of Edmonton and restoration crews who responded so quickly.” The centre remains closed.
Found Festival Adapts and Continues
Found Festival managed to save its sound equipment as the crew sheltered in a truck. Another venue hosting a theatre production flooded, but organizers moved the audience and performers upstairs. “They did a reading of the show on the main floor. The audience got a little bit of a different experience that night,” Brock said.
The festival, running through Sunday, proceeded as planned. However, Brock noted the financial impact of reduced attendance due to the storm. “The biggest impact it’s had on us is getting people back out this weekend. We’re kind of used to rain or shine, but a bad storm like this that keeps people home … the financial impact of missing our whole festival weekend, if folks aren’t able to get out and enjoy some stuff happening in the city, is pretty massive.”
Climate Challenges for Outdoor Events
Brock added that changing climate and increasingly chaotic weather have become a difficult reality for summer festivals. “If it’s not storming and raining constantly the last few summers, then we’re dealing with smoke instead, and that has the exact same impact. The reliability of being able to have outdoor events is getting harder and harder, particularly when we have such a short season.”
