As the Harvest Festival edges closer, the committee wants to keep safety a top priority, says Committee Head and Tourism and Marketing Director for Winkler Deb Penner.

This message will be seen on over 200 Harvest Fest volunteers at this year's festival.

Tens of thousands will pass through the festival grounds over the entire weekend and roads will be incredibly busy. Normally the volunteer shirts would have the sponsors on the back says Penner, however, to bring awareness towards distracted driving a new message was chosen.

"There's been so many tragedies on our highways through the last while, that we thought with 200 volunteers and 200 people walking around with these tee-shirts we had a bit of power to influence people to think more safely."

Distracted driving wasn't the only safety concern the committee had. Penner notes the parade has always been high on the list of concerns to the committee, taking place on the road with vehicles and large farming implements it is extremely dangerous when kids run out for handouts or candy.

Penner encourages parents to keep their kids close and keep their kids off the road. Members of the parade have been told while handing out items bring them directly to the kids. The biggest prayer the committee has is that people remain safe as they enjoy the festival.

Several new changes will be taking place this year as well. "The biggest one is the culture tent," says Penner. "It will be a big sized tent kind of south of the food court. Adding a space of a couple thousand square feet we needed to move some other things around. The kid's tent is expanding, which is south of the stage, and we're adding the cultural tent and a few other things around. We now officially have four entertainment stages which is also exciting."

Culture Fest will now be during the harvest festival weekend, taking place in Bethel Heritage park for several years the event was becoming too large for the area. The Harvest Committee invited Regional Connections welcoming them to the festival grounds at the cultural tent.

Penner says this year's committee was incredible and most have been volunteering for around 10 years, there's a lot of talent, experience, and dedication.

Planning has gone well and Penner wants to thank everyone who has worked hard to make this year possible.

Harvest Festival takes place August 10, 11, and 12.