Coulee Fest welcomes public to Polytechnic campus

By Lethbridge Herald on September 16, 2024.

Yeva Melaniia gets swarmed with a dome full of balloons during Coulee Fest over the weekend at Lethbridge Polytechnic. Herald photo by Justin Seward

Justin Seward – LETHBRIDGE HERALD

The annual Coulee Fest took over Lethbridge Polytechnic’s campus on Saturday afternoon.

“Coulee Fest brings the ability for so many members of our community to kind of come on campus, see what life is like here, (and) also just have a really, really fun day that’s all geared towards community, fun and family,” said Stephanie Savage, LP’s alumni and community engagement manager.

Savage said when  students see this many people kind of attending and supporting, they feel like  there’s a real community around them.

“I know that for students who come from afar or maybe come from other cities, they want to know that the community has their back,” said Savage.

“I think seeing so many community members come to Coulee Fest, they …  start to see what Lethbridge is all about as  far as how they support each other.”

Coulee Fest attendees  could expect  the favourite staples at the event every year such as the bouncy castles, petting zoos, the food trucks, beer gardens, while there were new additions this year with monster truck rides, tractor pull, Telus Sparks robo dogs and Henna artists to name a few.

“We’ve always tried to infuse it with a little bit of extra fun every year to make it a little different,” said Savage.

Jensen Mathieu was running to all the kids zone activities doing the jumping things with her kids and her favourite part for herself was the Hey Dough Cookie Co.

“I mean I went here for school, so it’s nice to just kind of come back and have a free event for families too,” said Mathieu.

Armilette Konynenbelt thought Coulee fest fit well for two-year-olds to enjoy.

“We’re most excited for the monster truck ride because that’s what he’s (son Miles)  in to and probably the petting zoo,” said Konynenbelt.

Savage feels lucky to have a great team when it comes to planning Coulee Fest.

“I think for me, every year gets a little less stressful because I have really great team members that help me,” said Savage.

“But for us it’s just about making sure all your T’s are crossed and your I’s are dotted  because in an event of this size, it’s really easy to let one small detail go that turns into a big mistake and we haven’t had that, thank goodness. But for us it’s just a lot of organization and fun.”

There were over 70 vendors supporting the event.