The Lloydminster Agricultural Exhibition Association is marking another successful year as it moves ahead with plans for new grandstands.
Jackie Tomayer, general manager of Lloydminster Agricultural Exhibition Association, presented updates on all things Lloyd Ex to the Rotary Club of Lloydminster on Jan. 26.
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The association has been around since 1905 and continues to support the community with between 700 to 800 event days a year.
“We’re here to support agriculture, education, entertainment and community growth,” said Tomayer. “We’re more than just the fair, we’re a hub where agriculture meets community and traditions mean new opportunities.”
The Lloyd Ex has about 200 volunteers, 25 full-time staff, 180 part-time staff, 250,000 visitors and generates $21 million for the community annually. Their board of directors is comprised of 18 volunteer members.
Tomayer outlined a number of events they host, including Agri Visions, Spring Sport and Leisure, Steer and Heifer show, 4-H judging and grooming, Spring Rare and Exotic sale, equine events, Boundary Ford Auto Wars, Lloyd Ex Fair, EXtreme Indian Relay Racing, Trunk or Treat, Stockade Roundup, Feastival and the PBR Winter Classic, among many others.
This year may also see the return of the heavy truck show.
“We’re going to hopefully do a heavy-duty truck show in August,” she said, noting Agri Visions is fast approaching this year.
“Agri Visions is coming up Feb. 11 and 12; it’s a sold-out trade show,” said Tomayer. “We have nine speaking sessions and panels, thousands of attendees and a great partnership is really developing with Lakeland (college) where they bring a lot of their students here to learn.”
Tomayer also explained the Lloyd Ex Fair celebrated a major milestone this year.
“Our fair this year was 120 years old. We came alive with music, agriculture, competitions and entertainment,” she said, noting Mural Fest will return to the fair in 2026. “One new thing that we had is Mural Fest, that was with Brandi Hofer.”
Mural Fest was such a success for the Ex, it even earned the association an award.
“We, for the third time, won an innovation award from the Government of Alberta,” said Tomayer.
The fair’s hobby horse competition will also return and expand its competition.
“Get your hobby horses ready, it’s coming back. We have an adult division and we’re going to have a dad division,” she said.
A new partnership with the Calgary Stampede will also see the Indian relay winner head to the Blue Sky City.
“This year, we saw a collaboration and our winner got an invite to the Calgary Stampede this coming year,” she said.
The CPCA finals, however, will not be returning to the Border City.
“I don’t think we will see a chuckwagon go around our track this year. There will be no CPCA finals here at Halstead Downs, but stay tuned for the future,” Tomayer explained.
She also noted some of the challenges they’re facing as an association.
“Of course, like any organization, we face our share of challenges. Rising costs and facility maintenance continue to put pressure on our operations,” she said.
Through local efforts, Tomayer says they’ve been able to fund some improvements to the building.
“I’m really proud we’ve been able to (do those improvement). Chase the Ace funds have been able to take care of this facility as it stands,” she said. “We put a new roof on the WLS Convention Centre, we’ve done all the renos to the outside that you guys now see when you come in.”
The board of directors has set out a new strategic plan for the Lloyd Ex with two big goals in mind: sustainability and longevity.
“So, January of ’25, one year ago, we saw the board of directors complete a new strategic plan,” said Tomayer. “The vision they came up with is to contribute to the vitality of community through enriched experiences that creates memories and build a better tomorrow.”
She says work has been ongoing as well with the Alberta government to explore the needs of various agricultural associations.
“Through consistent conversations with the Government of Alberta over the past four years, the Government of Alberta has committed one-time funding to investigate and discover where assets of the Lloyd Ex and the other regional Ag societies are and what deficiencies need to be addressed over the next 30 years.”
Tomayer says their annual operating budget is between $5 to $7 million as funding is an ongoing battle for the association. The Government of Alberta contributes around $300K in operating funds and $98K in activity funding annually, which has not changed since the ’80s, while the Saskatchewan government gives about 17K annually.
She explained the relationship with the city remains strong as they support the efforts of the Lloyd Ex.
“The city and our relationship is tremendously strong They understand the value we bring,” she said. “Provincial dollars are scarce, federal dollars are scarce. When they can support us in ways that maybe aren’t monetary, we really appreciate that. There is some sponsorship dollars to help us put on our events. When we host the parade and have roads blocked off and barricades; the city does that.”
A need for the exhibition has also been identified as they are in need of a new grandstand.
“Our grandstand is end of life and we need a new grandstand desperately,” said Tomayer. “There is a request in for some funding for some construction drawings.”
She says they hope to hear back in March.
“We’ll have some mockups done and some visioning and we’ll be shovel-ready whenever we can secure the $8 to $10 million we need.”
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