After two years of suspended activity, the Western Festival of Saint-Tite is coming back to life. Nearly 700,000 people are expected in the small municipality of 4,000 inhabitants.
Horses in the streets, kiosks, campers; the streets come back to life and there were already many visitors on Friday morning, smiling.
“We still welcome 650,000 people there, it’s been two years since there were any. Me, I think that, easily, one can say that there will be as many people as usual. It also depends on whether the weather is on our side and there, currently, we have beautiful sun which is announced , explained the president of the 54th Festival, Nadia Moreau.
Like every year, people come from all over Quebec and elsewhere, to the delight of merchants who can find their customers. These are however less numerous than before.
“We have already curled the 650 permits. There, we are around 500, so it is still good, but what must also be said is that people, with the pandemic, have gone bankrupt. There are also some that it is the question of supply, ”explained the mayor of Saint-Tite, Annie Pronovost, inviting the population to come and participate in the festival.
Visitors to campsites reserved as soon as the sanitary measures were lifted.
“It started at the beginning of the week, but I would tell you that yesterday was a good day. He entered over 500 trailers on our land. As you can see, things are still coming in, things are going really well,” said campsite manager Marc-André Moreau.
The first rodeo of the festival will take place on Saturday afternoon.