Excite Lethbridge pleased with transition

By Lethbridge Herald on January 2, 2026.

HERALD PHOTO BY JOE MANIO Excite Lethbridge concluded a noteworthy 2025 with the return of the family-friendly Neon Night New YearÕs Eve Party on Glow LethbridgeÕs final night of the season. Introduced in 2024, the Neon Night New YearÕs Eve Party revived the tradition of a family-friendly party. Please see A3 for a story on Excite LethbridgeÕs reflection of 2025.

By Joe Manio

Lethbridge Herald- Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

In 2025 the Lethbridge Trade & Convention Centre, which is now known as Excite Lethbridge ,saw major developments including an organizational split from the Agricultural Society, record attendance for Whoop-Up Days, a surge in diverse events held there and increased revenue, all contributing to a fantastic year of growth and community engagement. 

In September the Lethbridge & District Exhibition (LDE) split into two entities: the Lethbridge & District Agricultural Society (LDAS) for agriculture and Excite Lethbridge which now manages the Trade & Convention Centre.

It was a move to create more focus and sustainability.

“We are very pleased with the progress made throughout 2025 as we transitioned to Excite Lethbridge,” says Excite Lethbridge CEO Kim Gallucci. “It was a complex process with many moving parts, but with the transition largely complete, we are now well-positioned to focus on strategic planning and achieving results in 2026.”

“By the end of 2025, Excite Lethbridge has made substantial progress. We are increasingly recognized by meeting planners and are now actively bidding on conferences, meetings, and special events. While we may not yet be winning as many bids as we would like—often due to factors beyond our control—we are at the bidding stage, learning, adapting and positioning ourselves to be more competitive moving forward,” says Gallucci.

In August Whoop-Up Days saw new attendance records and the Agri-food Hub & Trade Centre hosted a huge increase in events including large conferences and popular community gatherings.

The Whoop-Up Days Rodeo set a new record in 2025 with 9,075 attendees over three days which was a 47% increase from the previous year, making it one of the fastest-growing events at the festival, which itself broke a modern attendance record with 54,865 people. The previous record for the rodeo was in 2024, which saw over 6,100 people.

A significant rise in events including many from outside the community boosted activity at the centre. Excite Lethbridge played a major role in Canada Day festivities using the Agri-food Hub for large-scale event hosting.

Collaboration with Tourism Lethbridge helped secure major conferences, while a new deal for Canada Day reduced city costs and created revenue opportunities for LDE. New features at Whoop-Up Days like the larger Marketplace and Community Stage enhanced the experience for attendees. 

These changes position the Excite Lethbridge and LDAS for future success, attracting more events and solidifying its role in Southern Alberta’s economy and community life.

Key challenges for 2026 include: navigating the transition after the LDE split, securing funding for aging facilities like the Rocky Mountain Turf Club and Grandstand, coordinating with the new LDAS on events like Aggie Days and addressing broader community issues like high food bank usage, all while establishing new operational efficiencies for event attraction. 

As a new entity Excite Lethbridge is working alongside the LDAS after the old Exhibition dissolved due to financial troubles requiring careful collaboration and redefining roles. The new structure demands fiscal prudence as highlighted by the need to manage costs for the Agri-Food Hub and rebranding efforts.

Gallucci says that other goals for 2026 include continuing expanding awareness and recognition of the Excite Lethbridge brand across Alberta and Canada, growing revenue streams by securing and bidding on new opportunities, expand and strengthen the sponsorship base and identify potential development areas and direction for Excite Lethbridge and for LDAS.

“2026 will be a year of continued development and refinement. While the transition was successfully completed in 2025, the coming year will focus on strengthening the identity and operational capacity of Excite Lethbridge, continuing to build our business streams and revenue base, and supporting the LDAS as it advances its new direction,” says Gallucci.