Wildfire upheaval forces cancellation of Thompson's annual Nickel Days festival

One of northern Manitoba's biggest weekend festivals has been cancelled this year due to the wildfire state of emergency in the province.

Thompson's annual Nickel Days was scheduled to take place June 19-22 with a headliner concert by country music star Dean Brody, but the emergency situation in the province called for "a difficult decision," said Jennifer Thackeray, the event's president.

"We've had unprecedented wildfires and evacuations in northern Manitoba. Because of this, we felt for the safety and well-being of all residents of northern Manitoba, to cancel Nickel Days," she said. "We did not make this decision lightly."

The event is a big deal not just for those in Thompson, but the entire northern region around it, Thackeray said.

The city has a population of just over 13,000 and the event's total gate count over the weekend ranges from 15,000-20,000 each year, she said.

"So it's basically the whole north that's affected by this decision, but that's what we had to do. We felt that was the most responsible course of action."

Manitoba is experiencing the worst wildfire season in recent memory, with about 21,000 evacuees from 27 communities registered with the Canadian Red Cross as of June 9. There are 29 active wildfires and a total of 116 this year to date.

"Our thoughts are with all of those who have been impacted by the wildfires and evacuations. Everyone, please stay safe," Thackeray said.

Thompson is not threatened by fire but much of the region is.

Just 120 kilometres to the south are the Cross Lake fires, which are almost 59,000 hectares combined, while 110 kilometres northeast of Thompson is the Tataskweyak Cree Nation (Split Lake) fire, which is nearly 22,000 hectares.

About 185 kilometres west of Thompson, there's a 55,000-hectare fire near Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (Pukatawagan), while 220 kilometres southwest of Thompson is the massive, united Sherridon and Flin Flon blaze, at nearly 308,000 hectares.

Mandatory evacuation orders are in place for Pimicikamak Cree Nation and the incorporated community of Cross Lake, Tataskweyak Cree Nation, Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, the city of Flin Flon, Snow Lake, Sherridon, Herb Lake Landing, Grass River Provincial Park and Wekusko Falls Provincial Park, Big Island Lake, Schist Lake, the Little Athapapuskow cottage area, Lake Athapapuskow, Payuk Lake, Twin Lake, Whitefish, White Lake (northwest region) and Bakers Narrows Provincial Park.

Nickel Days started in the early 1960s as a small summer festival with a parade and circus and has only been cancelled once before — due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It partnered with the National King Miner competition in 1972 and adopted the present name as a tribute to the nickel deposits that led to the creation of Thompson in the 1950s.

The modern event includes a midway with rides and games, vendors, concerts and other stage shows, beer gardens, family games, a parade, a social, various sporting events and, of course, the National King Miner competition, in which miners compete in a series of events, like drilling, pipefitting and ladder climbing.

While fire isn't a worry for Thompson, the air quality is impacted by smoke from the fires, Thackeray said.

"And right now, non-essential travel is not particularly recommended. You don't want to get … people into Thompson and then not be able to get them out again if the roads are closed," she said. 

"Basically it was for the safety of all that we had to cancel the event."

The festival is held in the lot of the Thompson Recreation Centre, which added another wrinkle, as that facility is hosting evacuees.

"Obviously we're not going to displace evacuees to have a community festival," Thackeray said.

Organizers will soon be in touch with all of the corporate sponsors to iron things out, and information will be posted in the upcoming weeks about the process for refunds for anyone who purchased Dean Brody tickets.