Glover Road was a sea of people, tents, and more people Saturday as tens of thousands turned out for the 22nd annual Fort 91原创 Cranberry Festival.
Visitors came from throughout the Lower Mainland to participate in the ceremonial harvest festivities held in the centre of the village, and organizers are hailing the event 鈥渁 huge success.鈥�
鈥淲e believe we had upwards of 55,000 visitors to the festival this year,鈥� said Meghan Neufeld, who organizes the festival on behalf of the .
She said that was 鈥渙n par鈥� with attendance at the 2013 and 2014 festivals.
鈥淗owever, the energy in the crowd was different this year. People were dancing in the streets, which I haven鈥檛 seen before.鈥�
Admittedly, she 鈥渃rashed hard鈥� after the festival, but said she鈥檚 been hearing from Fort 91原创 merchants and festival vendors alike and many are reporting record sales.
鈥淓veryone was thrilled with the turnout and the wonderful weather,鈥� Neufeld said. Of note, last year鈥檚 festival was plagued by torrential rains and a lengthy power outage that cut attendance to less than half of norm, at about 25,000.
鈥淓very year, I take some time to slowly wonder the streets and listen to people鈥檚 comments about the festival,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 love hearing what people have to say in the moment.鈥�
The entertainment lineup, directed by Sandy Dunkley, was 鈥渇abulous and had the crowd hopping all day,鈥� Neufeld said.
And the cranberry sales, coordinated by the BIA to cover costs of hosting the annual festival, once again sold out.
鈥淥cean Spray (who donates the berries) set us over 12,000 pounds of the ruby red fruit this year, and we sold out just as the festival was ending,鈥� Neufeld said.
鈥淎nother highlight from me is connecting with new and returning event volunteers,鈥� she added. 鈥淪ome, I only get to see once a year. [But] the festival wouldn鈥檛 function the way it does, without the dedication of our volunteers.鈥�
Neufeld pointed to a team of about 25 people who are involved in pulling the festival together, at least half of them from the Fort 91原创 Lions and Leo鈥檚 Club.
鈥� Video to follow
