The 19th annual Saskatoon Fireworks Festival has returned, and the event continues to grow each year in the city. “From the very first year when we started out, we had like 25,000 people and now we’re at 85,000. Last night was a little lighter than we normally would have because of the weather. But still people stayed and enjoyed the fireworks show,” Shad Ali, the festival director, said. Friday night’s fireworks were moved a little earlier in the schedule as a thunderstorm began rolling into Saskatoon. As Ali explained, this wasn’t what organizers had planned, but in spite of the weather, many people stayed to watch the show. “Night one presented a little bit of a challenge. I shouldn’t actually say that because actually what we had was amazing pyrotechnics at the end of the night that got matched up with natural pyrotechnics because the fireworks were spectacular,” Ali said. Ali added that the weather also didn’t stop any of the multicultural performances scheduled on Friday. “We got all of the cultural performances on the stage, they all got to perform. And that’s great because these groups have been practicing, some of them are kids, they’ve been practicing all year for this very moment. So it was great to have all of that happen,” Ali said. As the festival moved into its second day, many people came out to support their neighbourhood in the ‘Neighbourhood Face-off.’ “All they have to do is tell us which neighbourhood they’re from and the neighborhood with the most people that drive the challenges wins some money for their community,” Ali said. After visitors checked in to get points for their neighbourhood, they also had the opportunity to win some additional points through inflatable bowling, baseball and basketball. “Whether it’s play structures in their neighborhood, maybe they want to do hot chocolate at a skating day or a barbecue in summer, and so we got this idea to really get the community involved and engaged, get them to come down here,” Ali said. As the festival approaches two decades of fireworks and fun in Saskatoon’s downtown, Ali shared that the organizing team behind the event is already anticipating a very special for the milestone anniversary. “We’re like 18 going on 19 now. So we are a teenager fully, but that also means we’re coming close to the 20-year mark. And so we’re starting already to plan something really special for that to celebrate. So people will be able to come down, you know, there’s been so much that we’ve been able to do through this festival,” Ali said. Saturday night’s firework show is scheduled to begin at 9:30 pm.
