Murray Wood: Regina residents deserve clear answers from city hall
The City of Regina has fired city manager Niki Anderson. Murray Wood says the public deserves to know the reasons behind...
The 2025 Queen City Exhibition is promising more affordable tickets, a new ride provider and an all-Canadian Grand Stand lineup.
The event will see cheaper ticket prices, after QCX entertainment director Cathleen Betker said Regina’s Exhibition Association received feedback from the community.
The REAL District was able to make budget cuts in areas like programming and performances to afford cheaper ticket prices. Betker said the $21 general admission ticket is around $3 lower than in previous years.
“I think it’s important to always be a stakeholder for the community,” she said. “Our biggest stakeholders are the people of Regina, of southern Saskatchewan.
“People come to the fair to have a great time, and we want to make sure that we’re always inviting them back.”
Read more:
- Queen City Ex gets underway, police boost presence to help ensure safety
- 2025 QCX to be more affordable, features all-Canadian music lineup
- Regina City Council votes to fire city manager Niki Anderson
Cathleen Betker encouraged people to watch the “spectacular” fireworks show planned for Sunday. (Joshua Potter/ 980 CJME)
Betker said she believed attendance numbers through the five-day event would be similar to last year.
According to the Regina Exhibition Association, 262,720 people attended the five-day event in 2024.
“We’re not anticipating a lot of extra growth this year,” she said. “As long as we kind of hold flat to our numbers from last year, I think we’re going to have a really successful fair.”
The event is staffed with metal detectors screening fair-goers at the front gate, and Regina Police will have uniformed and plain clothes officers on the grounds.
The all-Canadian music lineup includes Blue Rodeo, The Reklaws, The Glorious Sons, Sam Roberts Band, Bif Naked and Kim Mitchell.
The fair will conclude with fireworks on Sunday night.
The new ride provider confident fair-goers will enjoy its rides
North American Midway Entertainment has previously brought the rides for Regina’s fair, but in an emailed statement from the company, it confirmed it was “unable to renew our contract with the Queen City Exhibition.”
The company will be providing the rides for the Saskatoon Exhibition. Its dates overlap with the Regina fair dates.
REAL District President Rick Bennett said it plans to form a long-term relationship with West Coast Amusements for future carnivals Regina hosts.
“The Saskatoon fair is underway at the exact same time, and we felt in order to get the type of rides that we wanted and the calibre of rides that we were better served by West Coast Amusements,” he said.
President of West Coast Amusements Rob Hauser said the company has previously provided its services to events like the Calgary Stampede. (Joshua Potter/ 980 CJME)
West Coast Amusements, a company based out of British Columbia, has brought 40 rides to the 2025 event.
“This is a big step for us,” said President Rob Hauser. “We’re excited to be here, and we’re going to do the best job we can.
“I’m very, very confident that we’re going to make a lot of people happy.”
Hauser said the company has invested in more rides it hopes to add to its lineup in future years, like a larger Ferris wheel and a flying elephants ride.
Riders can expect to see some different rides that have never appeared at the QCX grounds, but also some familiar ones like the Zipper, the Fireball, and the Himalaya.
Read more:
