Canadian Western Agribition (WCA) is celebrating a milestone 50 years as it welcomes everyone back to the country’s largest livestock show.

After a year away due to the pandemic, Chris Lane, CEO of the WCA, said watching people load in on Sunday came with a lot of emotion.

It becomes a big part of the calendar for folks, so I think theres a lot of excitement and a lot of happiness just being able to get together again, said Lane.

Kylie Berner, with Berner Cattle Co., is celebrating not just the agribition’s anniversary, but also the anniversary for her breed, the Maine-Anjou cattle.

“Its very nice to come back to showcase our animals and to see everyone who I havent seen in a very long time and just to meet up with friends, said Berner.

She is looking forward to meeting new people at this year’s event.

On Thursday, the city has declared an official Agribition Week for the first time.

Weve seen a lot of buy in from local bars, restaurants, hotels, businesses, just to celebrate with us and get us back in the spirit of things, said Lane of the proclamation.

He said Agribition is the “heart of soul of the beef cattle industry” and every year the event sees more and more people from outside of the agriculture umbrella coming to the shows.

It is the chance that you can get kind of up close and personal and really see working agriculture in the comfort of the city, in your own backyard so to speak, so I dont think it matters if youre a farmer or a rancher or if its been awhile since youve been on the farm.

This years event is anchored by a full livestock schedule including horses, alpacas and bison featuring 12 national breed shows, auctions, stock dogs, the Maple Leaf Finals Rodeo and jousting at Cirque De Medieval.