Thread by @PaulDechene

Hey YQR Twitter gang… I've been working on a piece about the Farmers Mkt & Folk Fest being displaced downtown for pdog. There've been some stories on social media that aren't accurate so I'm sharing what I know for sure now instead of holding on until the next issue /1 #yqrcc

First, the Plaza is not being closed to be used for storage of equipment. Second, the Plaza is not being turned into a parking lot. /2 #yqrcc

The situation is more complex. There is a lot of construction downtown this year that will impact the Mrkt & Fest.
• 11th Ave work starting
• Harvard will be taking down Burns Hanley
• Sask Power is doing underground work on Plaza /3 #yqrcc

City has worked w/ Mrkt & Fest & have rearranged schedules for those jobs so that both events will happen this year. /4 #yqrcc

City has also apparently changed the routing of the buses that are being displaced by the 11th Ave work. This was going to be a big problem for users of Plaza & Park as where the buses would be are important loading routes for them. But as I say, city fixed this. /5

I have heard nothing but praise for the hard work of city staff over the last couple weeks to shift things around to minimize the disruptions on the Mrkt & Fest & the rest of downtown. /6 #yqrcc

That said, while 2023 will go ahead for both, 2024-2026 does not look so optimistic. City is helping Farmers Mrkt find temp location. Folk Fest though… /7 #yqrcc

Nothing has been decided for those years yet but the possibility still exists for the Folk Fest to have to move for 2024-26. And if they do, there is no guarantee that they will return to downtown. /8 #yqrcc

The last few years have been murder for live music in Canada. This disruption is EXTREMELY poorly timed (if you're a folk fest lover… if you're a roads and construction lover, then you're probably good). /9 #yqrcc

So, again… the Farmers Market & the Folk Fest are, as of this moment, still on for the Plaza & Vic Park this year. The Plaza is not being used as storage or a parking lot. /10 #yqrcc

I still have work to do on all this to find out more about the whys, whens and wherefors of all this. I'll update you when I know more. /end

PS. I just want to highlight this again b/c it sounds like city staff are in fact doing there best.

https://twitter.com/PaulDechene/status/1641849941629730828?s=20

goddammit
*their