17-07-2025
‘Organized chaos,' builders say of moving exhibition from Stampede to KDays
The last pieces of the KDays Midway are being put in place Thursday.
The exhibition grounds were a bustling place in the morning, with workers in cranes, forklifts, semis, and even on top of a stationary ferris wheel.
'A lot of it is organized chaos,' acknowledged Bennett Kavals, the person in charge of personnel for North American Midway Entertainment. 'But a lot of planning goes into the logistics.'
After the Calgary Stampede closed on Sunday, about 500 crew members tore the amusement park down and packed for the road trip north on Monday and Tuesday. About 300 semis are needed to transport the rides from city to city.
'We bring the equipment in the strategic order. The placement is very important.… It's kind of like a symphony, an orchestra,' Kavals said.
KDays midway exhibition set up 2025
A crane operator helps build a roller coaster for the KDays exhibition on July 17, 2025. (Connor Hogg / CTV News Edmonton)
Many staff work for the company year round and travel for the exhibition season year after year.
Each is assigned to a specific ride.
'We move 19 locations in a year, so we're pretty good at this. And we've been doing it for 21 years,' noted Scooter Korek, vice-president of client services.
'We start in Miami in March of every year and they become very proficient at their ride and how to set it up, how to do the inspections, how to make sure that it's safe, how to be able to ride people. So by the time we get here to KDays, we're very proficient in our tasks.'
According to him, two of the most difficult rides to set up are the 'Crazy Mouse' and 'Outlaw' roller coasters.
But construction and inspections will be finished by Friday's 11 a.m. opening, the organizers promised.
Korek said, 'It hits home when the gates are open. All that work pays off and all of our guys look forward to (it). Let's get this party started.'
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Connor Hogg
