The thought of gallons of salsa and tens of thousands of people sounds a little intimidating, but to Calgary festival-goers it’s a tradition they’re not willing miss.
The Sun and Salsa Festival will take over the Kensington business district July 25, shutting down 10th Street and most of Kensington Road for much of the day, yet the crowd calls out for more.
“It’s always the first Sunday after the Stampede,” explains Annie MacInnis, Kensington Business Revitalization Zone’s (BRZ) executive director.
“People are sick and tired of sausages and pancakes and it’s a breath of fresh air to come to Kensington to eat spicy, tasty salsa.”
She says it took a mere four hours last year for 800 gallons of salsa, prepared by Kensington BRZ businesses, to disappear into the bellies of the roughly 90,000 Sun and Salsa attendees.
A proposal city council will look at early next month is if subsidies can go to Calgary festival organizers.
“What may be a large sum of money to a festival organizing group can be very little money to the city,” says Ald. Druh Farrell.
She explains fees associated with festivals — shutting roads down, security or paying the parking authority for lost meter revenue — will be reviewed as Farrell feels administration costs to charge for these services outweigh the actual service fees.
