Mayor’s annual community barbecue draws big crowd

By Lethbridge Herald on August 20, 2024.

Mayor Blaine Hyggen takes a selfie with a group of kids on Tuesday at the 3rd annual Mayor’s Barbecue held at City Hall. Herald photo by Alexandra Noad

Alexandra Noad – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Hundreds, if not thousands, of people lined up at city hall to enjoy a hotdog, drink and music from Trevor Panczak after the parade at the 3rd annual Mayor’s Barbecue on Tuesday.

Mayor Blaine Hyggen was prepared for a crowd but was still blown away by the turnout.

“Well, I love it being packed. I’m just hoping we have enough to feed everyone. We’ve got the first thousand here, but as I’m looking at this lineup, it seems like about a mile long. So, I’m hoping that we can get everybody fed,” said Hyggen.

The idea was sparked to bring the community together so as mayor and councillors they could not only get to know the community, but they could also talk about concerns people have.

“We wanted to make sure that members of the community have a chance to connect with their councillors,” said Hyggen.

Throughout the event Hyggen could be found visiting to adults and children alike and was having a great time bringing everyone together.

Events like this cannot happen without sponsorships from businesses within Lethbridge.

This event was sponsored by both visitlethbridge.com with the food being presented by Co-Op.

Hyggen says it’s sponsorships like these which bring the city together at no cost to the residents.

“Every dollar that we get from sponsorships is less we’re going to need from taxation. So of course, this is a $750,000 sponsorship over five years with a renewable could be for another five years of $750,000. So that’s $1.5 million that doesn’t come from taxpayers,” said Hyggen of the Lethbridge Lodging Association’s sponsorship agreement for naming rights at the City’s largest arena and entertainment venue.

The Whoop-Up Days festivities run until Saturday and more information on events happening can be found at whoopupdays.ca

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