The community event circuit was busy for Coquitlam residents in 2019.
According to a staff report, 157 block parties, summer concerts and cultural festivals were held across the city last year, working out to an average of one every 2.3 days.
Canada Day was by far the largest, bringing 75,000 participants to Town Centre Park throughout the day, while smaller community events attracted a total 72,500 people based on the feedback from organizers.
Festivals attracted a large number of residents from outside of the municipality. For example, a survey of visitors to Summer Concert Series at Lafarge Lake saw 34% of out of town visitors while Canada Day saw 22%.
One event that parks and recreation staff said they are hoping to draw more people to in 2020 is the Kaleidoscope Arts Festival. While the reviews for the event were “overwhelmingly positive,” according to a staff report, inclement weather early in the day kept attendance down to around 5,000 people.
“Looking forward, staff plan to conduct a review of the one-day festival… following the 2021 event to evaluate the event impact and success.”
