Port Moody's Golden Spike Days Festival needed a spike in attendance this year and it seems it got one, reporting an estimated 35,000 visitors to the annual Canada Day weekend festival.
In recent years the festival had suffered from flagging interest and a fallout of advertisers following the economic downturn. In May, festival director Sally Comin went to Port Moody city council to ask forgiveness on $14,000 in loans from the city to keep the Canada Day weekend festival afloat.
That request was declined but council offered to take a look at the festival's budget and determine an appropriate payment plan, beginning with a $5,000 loan coming due in October.
In an interview with The Tri-City News, Comin said she wouldn't know whether the society could make any payments on this or any other loans from the city until after its earnings from the July 1 festival were tallied.
"Hopefully we can pay some of it back, but first we would need to make sure we have enough set aside to put on next year's festival," Comin said.
