A satirical news story, claiming the fictitious International Blueberry Festival in Abbotsford ran $17 million over budget, has the Abbotsford Downtown Business Association (ADBA) assuring community members it's all a joke.
The story, broadcast on CBC Radio's This is That program – a satirical public affairs radio program that has caused confusion across the country with its false news stories – claimed that a local festival exceeded its budget by millions.
The fictitious festival organizer says in an interview they started to build an amphitheatre for the event but ran out of money. He said $3.4 million was also spent on a rollercoaster.
A letter from Tina Stewart, executive director of the ADBA, indicates she received calls from the public wondering how the ADBA could go so far over budget.
"To be perfectly clear, the annual Berrybeat Festival in Historic Downtown Abbotsford, certainly does not run over budget," wrote Stewart.
"As much as we would love to give the community their own rollercoaster, I can assure you there won't be a multimillion dollar rollercoaster in Downtown Abbotsford any time soon."