ESTEVAN — Estevan Exhibition Association president Crystal Ross says this year's Energy City Ex. was "a smashing success".
Ross said more than 11,000 people attended this year's event, held from June 13-15 at the exhibition grounds. While she didn't have an attendance breakdown for each day, she believes June 14 was the busiest of the three.
She also said attendance was higher this year than in 2024.
West Coast Amusements once again supplied the midway, with carnival games, food booths and rides for people of all ages. Ross noted the midway was packed at one point on June 14. She said she saw people smiling and laughing even when in line. And she believes the clean-up efforts made it one of the tidiest exhibition grounds on the West Coast circuit.
"They're just such a great company to work with," Ross told Â鶹ÊÓƵ. "We meet with them after and anything that they need or we need, we resolve those issues."
The KCRA Rodeo, held June 13 and 14 at the Graham Collie Rodeo Arena, was once again a great show, she said. Ross described wild pony races during the intermissions as "a hoot".
"The wild ponies are exactly what they are, wild ponies, so I guess they were a really, really good addition to the rodeo. And the rodeo stands were packed. Our rodeo chairman [Dallas Spencer] said it was just a smashing success, and the contestants were happy. They love the energy to the ex and they love coming to Estevan.
"So right there, that's a huge success. The contestants are thrilled; that means the show is even going to be better for the people in the stands."
The agriculture pavilion in the Wylie-Mitchell building expanded this year, and that was a big highlight, she said. School tours came through June 12 and 13, allowing children to learn more about the agriculture sector.
"The kids got to learn how to milk a cow, they got to sit in various farm implements and tractors," said Ross. "The kids learned to swing a rope from a saddle – it was a hoola-hoop, but the concept was still the same. They learned about guardians of the grassland. They learned about lentils and peas and oats, and they got to feel the grain.
"The kids had a blast, and it's near and dear to my heart. Agriculture, of course, is where I get my livelihood, so they took away so much, and apparently we got a lot of calls from parents saying the kids had a riot."
The jackpot steer and heifer show June 14 was a "tremendous" success, she said, with lots of entries. The annual quilt show was held at the Estevan Exhibition Association building all three days. The EEA teamed up with the Estevan Humane Society for a cabaret featuring FogDog on June 14. Food booths were open and food trucks were on site each day.
The annual SMILE Services Estevan Parade, combined with the grad parade, kicked off the Energy City Ex on June 13. Ross noted they resolved issues with traffic flow from 2024 and this year there were some real improvements.
"Everybody loves the grads as part of the rodeo parade, and I hope that always happens, going forward, whether grad is the same weekend [as the Energy City Ex] or not," said Ross. "hat parade is just … fantastic."
Ross didn't hear any concerns associated with parking from having the Energy City Ex. and the grad on the same weekend.
She thanked the volunteers who were there on the grounds to make sure the doors opened each day. They served drinks at the beer gardens, cleaned up garbage, welcomed people at the gates and made sure children are safe on the midway. And the EEA is grateful for all of the event sponsors who make the Energy City Ex. happen.
The 2026 edition of the Energy City Ex. has already been booked for June 12-14.
