K-Days , formerly known as the Edmonton Exhibition , Klondike Days , and Capital Ex , is an annual 10-day exhibition held in Edmonton , Alberta, Canada mostly in late July. It runs in conjunction with the Taste of Edmonton and – from 2006 through 2012 – the Edmonton Indy .
46-672: The exhibition, hosted by Explore Edmonton beginning 2022, and hosted until 2019 by Northlands , is held at the Exhibition Lands adjoining Edmonton Expo Centre . K-Days begins on the third Friday of July and five days after the Calgary Stampede (until 2009, it began four days after), making it end on the Sunday of July's last weekend. The fair was originally named the Edmonton Exhibition from its founding in 1879 until 1964 when it
92-693: A prize home lottery . Prior to 1964, Klondike Days was named the Edmonton Exhibition; therefore for the first nine years of the contest, from 1955 until 1963, the lottery was named the Edmonton Exhibition Dream Home Lottery. Similarly, for the final three years of the lottery, the event was named the Capital Ex Dream Home Lottery. Each year, the home was assembled and displayed at the Northlands exhibition grounds for
138-731: A community parade in the 1930s and 1940s. The fair was relocated to its current site in Northlands (now named Edmonton Expo Centre ) in 1910. In 1912, it was extended to six days. It continued to be held through the First World War , even though the facilities were at the disposal of the Canadian military . A similar arrangement was made during the Second World War , though this time with the Royal Canadian Air Force . The exhibition
184-541: A heavy emphasis has been placed on deemphasizing the IRL name and replacing it with "IndyCar". This became official on January 1, 2011, as Indy Racing League LLC adopted as its trade name INDYCAR. On November 1, 2013, the company's legal name was changed to INDYCAR LLC. The dispute between CART and IRL centered on the Indianapolis 500, long considered the flagship race of the sport. From 1980 until 1995, USAC continued to sanction
230-633: A new national championship racing series, the Indy Racing League . This resulted in a legal battle over the IndyCar trademark: In March 1996, CART filed a lawsuit against the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in an effort to protect their license to the IndyCar mark after the Indianapolis Motor Speedway had attempted to terminate it. In April, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway filed a separate lawsuit against CART to prevent them from further use of
276-494: A number of attempts at a compromise board failed, IMS formed the Indy Racing League in 1994 , with the series being slated to begin racing in 1996 . CART had primarily sanctioned Indy car racing since 1979 , when the organization broke away from USAC. George blueprinted the IRL as a lower-cost open-wheel alternative to CART, which in his view had become technology-driven and dominated by a few wealthy multi-car teams. The IRL
322-654: A proposal that included free cars and engine leases to Champ Car teams willing to run the entire 2008 IndyCar Series schedule in exchange for adding Champ Car's dates at Long Beach , Toronto , Edmonton , and Australia to the IndyCar Series schedule, effectively reuniting American open-wheel car racing . The offer was initially made in November 2007. On February 10, 2008, Tony George, along with IRL representatives Terry Angstadt and Brian Barnhart , plus former Honda executive Robert Clarke, traveled to Japan to discuss moving
368-727: Is a destination marketing organization in Edmonton , Alberta . It is involved in promoting Edmonton tourism, operating two of the city's event facilities—the Edmonton Convention Centre and the Edmonton Expo Centre , and serving as the organizer of the annual exhibitions K-Days and Farmfair International. It was formerly known as the Edmonton Economic Development Corporation ( EEDC ), and additionally acted as an economic development agency for
414-667: Is an auto racing sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana . The organization sanctions two racing series : the premier IndyCar Series with the Indianapolis 500 as its centerpiece, and the developmental series Indy NXT . IndyCar is recognized as a member organization of the FIA through the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States . The sanctioning body
460-656: Is the fourth major sanctioning body to govern the sport of Indy car racing, following the American Automobile Association 's AAA Contest Board , the United States Auto Club (USAC), and Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), and operated alongside the Champ Car World Series before acquiring the latter. Today, IndyCar is owned by Roger Penske via Penske Entertainment Corp., a subsidiary of Penske Corporation . Penske purchased IndyCar and
506-642: The Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi . Moving that race, or postponing it, would be required in order to accommodate the Long Beach Grand Prix , which was scheduled for the same weekend. Optimism following the meeting was high. In February 2008, Indy Racing League founder and CEO Tony George and owners of the Champ Car World Series completed an agreement to unify the sport for 2008. The result
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#1732875927526552-514: The City of Edmonton, with the remainder of its budget coming from convention centre operations and government grants. In November 2020, the organization requested "an increase in funding over the next three years to make up for declining revenues from facility and hotel bookings as a result of the [COVID-19] pandemic." The group has asked $ 18.8 million in 2022 and $ 14.5 million in 2023. Indy Racing League IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR ),
598-609: The EEDC departed as part of layoffs by the corporation, primarily citing the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta . In September 2020, the EEDC announced that it had rebranded as Explore Edmonton. In June 2021, Northlands announced that it would dissolve effective July 5, 2021, and that Explore Edmonton would take over the operations of K-Days and Farmfair International going forward. Explore Edmonton receives annual funding from
644-555: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway from Hulman & Co. in November 2019. The term "Indy Car" began as a nickname for the cars that competed in the USAC's Championship Division of open-wheel racing in the United States, deriving from the sport's most popular competition, the Indianapolis 500 . The division's link with Indianapolis soon resulted in the term surpassing the official term "championship car" (or its short form "champ car") in common use and promotions. The term continued to be used by
690-502: The Indy 500, although CART drivers predominantly competed in the race and points that drivers scored during the event counted towards the CART drivers' championship. George felt that his opinions regarding increasing costs and revenue sharing were being ignored, while CART team owners felt George used his influence over USAC to have a disproportionate impact on the general operation of the sport. After
736-420: The IndyCar Series for the 2003 racing season. CART, beset by team departures and other financial issues, filed for bankruptcy that year; a trio of former CART team owners were selected by the bankruptcy court to purchase CART's assets, which they used to reorganize the Champ Car World Series . The two series were unified for the 2008 season, with the unified series using the IndyCar Series name. Post-unification,
782-513: The K-Days parade would not take place, citing "current fiscal realities", declines in attendance, and a desire to invest in more "on-site" programming. In April 2020, K-Days cancelled that summer's event due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta . In May 2021, despite a planned easing of restrictions in Alberta by July, and the Stampede announcing plans to move ahead with their event, K-Days was cancelled for
828-576: The USAC's replacement as the dominant governing body for open-wheel racing, CART, which called its main series the "CART PPG Indy Car World Series" despite the body not sanctioning the 500. In 1992, during an attempt by CART to broaden their board membership, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway registered the camel case trademark IndyCar with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and licensed it to CART as their new trade name. In 1996, Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Tony George launched
874-442: The attendance figures showing 743,374 attendees, a drop of almost 30,000 from the previous year. In 2009 the attendance dropped again, by more than 25,000, to a total of 717,966, but rebounded again by 4% in 2010 to 747,660. In 2011 the attendance had risen to 713,546 and the following year the fair had attracted 747,660 visitors. In 2014, 740,840 people attended K-Days and sales totalled over $ 100 million. In 2015, 785,290 attended,
920-438: The change in name from Klondike Days, with many locals continuing to refer to the exhibition as Klondike Days or K-Days. Ken Knowles, President of Northlands, explained that the rebranding "... was so much more than a name. It was about the programming and the opportunity to showcase the best of the region and the province". The name change was recognized at the 2007 Alberta Tourism Awards, where Knowles stated "This recognition from
966-425: The city. In 2019, Edmonton's city council voted in favour of splitting its economic development activities into a new innovation authority (which would be known as Innovate Edmonton). The Edmonton Economic Development Corporation (EEDC) was founded by the City of Edmonton in 1993, as an independent, not-for-profit corporate entity. Its main objective was to provide leadership for the economic development strategy for
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#17328759275261012-525: The death of Tony Renna in testing at Indianapolis, the IRL made additional changes to reduce speeds and increase safety. IndyCar was the first racing series to adopt the SAFER soft wall safety system, which debuted at the Indianapolis 500 and has now been installed at almost all major oval racing circuits. The SAFER system research and design was supported and funded in large part by the Hulman-George family and
1058-429: The degradation in quality especially apparent during the Indianapolis 500, which saw a dramatic decline in prestige. The IRL began to draw top teams from CART starting in 2002, contributing to the latter's bankruptcy , replacement by the Champ Car World Series in 2003, and ultimate demise and absorption by the IRL in 2008. After absorbing Champ Car, the IndyCar Series became what the CART series from which it separated
1104-696: The duration of the Klondike Days exhibition. Once a winner was determined, each home would then be transported to an empty lot in Edmonton or a suburb of Edmonton such as St. Albert or Sherwood Park . Since the lottery's inception in 1955, the Klondike Days dream home lottery has been sponsored by the Edmonton Lions Club . Historically, local Edmonton businesses provided labour and building materials for these dream homes in exchange for advertising that certified their involvement; for example, Rainbow Eavestroughing
1150-435: The event recover from the recession. In 2004, Northlands Park celebrated the 125th anniversary of the fair. The Klondike Days Parade's theme commemorated the City of Edmonton's 100th anniversary that year. Fair attendance continued to climb, breaking the 800,000 attendance mark in 2005. However, in 2006, attendance fell to 688,369, coinciding with the year that the name of the exhibition was changed to "Capital EX". The change
1196-468: The first local exhibition on the original Fort Edmonton site on October 15, 1879. This was the first event of its kind held in what was then known as the North-West Territories . Edmonton's first fair showcased locally produced livestock, grain, vegetables, and handiwork and attracted 500 people. Calgary and Saskatoon soon started their own exhibitions in 1886 with Regina following in 1894. In 1893,
1242-566: The highest in the past 10 years. In 2017, despite the weather, 816,000 people attended K-Days. In 2018, even though the fair began with anti-abortion and animal rights protests, K-Days managed to attract 808,009 people. In February 2020, the United Conservative Party government announced cuts to provincial funding for both K-Days and the Calgary Stampede as part of the 2020 budget. On February 28, Northlands announced that
1288-467: The lack of run-offs on oval tracks, coupled with higher speeds due to the long straights and banked turns, means that there is far less margin for error. Car design was attributed as a leading cause of early injuries, and the series made improvements to chassis design to address those safety concerns. Following a series of spectacular high-profile accidents in 2003 , including American racing legend Mario Andretti and former champion Kenny Bräck , as well as
1334-427: The mark. Eventually a settlement was reached in which CART agreed to give up the use of the IndyCar mark following the 1996 season and the IRL agreed not to use the name before the end of the 2002 season. CART returned to branding as simply CART for 1997, and resurrected the term "champ car" to describe their vehicles. Following a six-year hiatus, the Indy Racing League announced it would rename their premier series
1380-578: The oil market to rebound. In December 2019, the Edmonton City Council voted on a notion to form a new, separate innovation authority, which would subsume some of the EEDC's existing economic development activities. As a result, the EEDC was to focus primarily on conventions and tourism. The city approved $ 5 million in annual funding for the new organization in May 2020, which would be known as Innovate Edmonton. In April 2020, multiple senior leaders of
1426-490: The organization held the city's first spring exhibition, and in 1899, the exhibition grounds were relocated to Rossdale Flats (now Edmonton Ballpark ). By 1904, the exhibition's attendance exceeded 20,000 (5,200 on opening day). During this period Arthur G. Harrison was President of the Edmonton Exhibition Association. The first parade to promote the fair was held in 1903. However, the fair did not organize
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1472-446: The region. On January 1, 2018, the EEDC took ownership of the Edmonton Expo Centre from Northlands , as part of an agreement with the city to forgive the latter's debt. In August 2018, when Derek Hudson took over as CEO of EEDC, he said that his main goal in the position was to develop a more resilient, diverse economy, including focusing on the tourism and technology sectors. In January 2019, EEDC announced that one of its goals
1518-589: The second year in a row due to the pandemic "following discussions with the City of Edmonton and Explore Edmonton ". The organization cited limited time and resources, and a desire to focus on 2022 as to not hold K-Days in 2021 only for the sake of holding it. Northlands stated that it was also acting out of respect to other Edmonton events that did announce plans to return in a modified form for 2021. On June 10, 2021, Northlands announced its dissolution, and that Explore Edmonton would assume operations of K-Days and Farmfair International. From 1955 until 2010, K-Days hosted
1564-505: The tourism industry is particularly gratifying as it reinforces our ongoing efforts through Capital Ex to continue to celebrate our province and to build Alberta pride." Before the 2012 event, Northlands announced that the Capital Ex name would be retired, and a new name would be chosen by public vote. Eventgoers chose K-Days from the six names offered. The new name for the fair was announced on July 29, 2012. The original Klondike Days name
1610-566: Was advertised in the Edmonton Journal after manufacturing and installing eavestroughs on the 1965 Dream Home. In 1961, the Edmonton Journal reported that "some 25 Edmonton businesses contributed to the construction of the home." The first Klondike Days Dream Home lottery took place in 1955, and was labelled the "Golden Dream Home" in conjunction with Alberta's golden jubilee of that year. Explore Edmonton Explore Edmonton Co.
1656-415: Was and its related European open-wheel formula counterparts: former prominent CART teams such as Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske are frequent race winners, there is a strong contingent of foreign-born drivers, the cars are increasingly electronic and aero dependent and the schedule includes more road and street courses than oval tracks. On January 23, 2008, Tony George offered Champ Car management
1702-561: Was designed only to run on oval tracks, in order to promote American drivers from the midget and sprint car ranks to graduate to IndyCar racing, the same way that IndyCar legends A.J. Foyt , Mario Andretti , Johnny Rutherford , and the Unsers ( Al Unser, Sr. and Bobby Unser ) had in the 1960s. Starting with the first IRL season, the league proclaimed that 25 of the 33 spots in the Indy 500 starting grid would be reserved for cars from full-time IRL teams. In 1996, CART retaliated by scheduling what
1748-469: Was formed in 1994 under the name Indy Racing League by Hulman & Company , which also owned the Indianapolis Motor Speedway complex, and began competition in 1996 . The trademark name INDYCAR was officially adopted on January 1, 2011. The sport of open-wheel car racing, also historically referred to as championship car racing or Indy car racing, traces its roots to as early as 1905. It
1794-484: Was introduced for the 2012 season. IndyCar collaborated with DreamWorks Animation to launch comedy film Turbo in 2013. Bernard was fired in October 2012, and replaced by Mark Miles . Driver safety has also been a major point of concern, with a number of drivers seriously injured, particularly in the early years of the series. There have been five fatal crashes in the history of the series. Compared to road racing venues,
1840-503: Was met with both protest and excitement from citizens. Some felt a name change was unnecessary, while others felt it was time to drop "traditional themes" citing that there was no longer an interest in dressing up in Klondike-themed clothing during the week-long exhibition. Northlands decided not to release the 2008 attendance numbers due to an agreement with the Indy Racing League . However, Northlands changed its decision and released
1886-403: Was not one of the six options available. Some fans of the event's previous name, Klondike Days , have stated that the name change to Capital Ex was a poor decision due to the region's history. Many feel that the event being renamed back to K-Days , by the overwhelming majority of the vote, shows just how much of a mistake the initial name change was. The Edmonton Agricultural Society organized
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1932-539: Was renamed Klondike Days . The name change coincided with the introduction of the kitsch theme associated with the 1890s and the Klondike Gold Rush . The gold rush had taken place over a thousand miles to the northwest. Edmonton was a stopping point for prospectors headed to the Yukon Territory on the " all-Canadian overland route ". The name was changed to Capital Ex , in 2006. There was some controversy over
1978-583: Was renamed "Klondike Days" in 1962, with the theme revolving around the Klondike Gold Rush . The public embraced the theme with relish, dressing up in period costumes for the Klondike Days opening parade. In the 1980s, films were screened on-site at the exhibition's RCMP Dome Theatre; for example, Roger Tilton's film Pilots North was screened in 1982. In the 1990s, the Grand North American Old Time Fiddle Championship shifted to be in conjunction with Klondike Days, helping
2024-453: Was supposed to become its new showcase event, the U.S. 500 , at Michigan International Speedway on Memorial Day , the traditional date for the Indy 500. The new 1997 technical rules featured less expensive chassis and "production-based" engines that were purchased rather than leased, but most importantly, were technically incompatible with CART specifications. The IRL's early seasons consisted of sparse schedules and inexperienced teams, with
2070-455: Was that the Champ Car World Series was suspended except for the Long Beach Grand Prix . Many of the former Champ Car teams moved to the IndyCar Series using equipment provided by the IRL. Randy Bernard was announced as the new IRL CEO in February 2010. In 2011, the sanctioning body dropped the Indy Racing League name, becoming IndyCar to reflect the merged series. The new Dallara DW12 racecar
2116-492: Was to move Edmonton away from its reliance on the oil industry, and said the Corporation would focus on industries such as arts and culture; sport; health; artificial intelligence; public service; and government, in moving towards this aim. In support of EEDC's goals, Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson said at the EEDC's 2019 luncheon that the city needs expansion and innovation across its industries instead of waiting for and relying on
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