Mayor Sohi to ‘dig deeper’ to find ways to help Edmonton festivals facing financial struggles

The mayor says he will be looking into what the city can do to help Edmonton festivals stay afloat amid ongoing financial struggles coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. It comes as several local festivals say they are having to make hard decisions about the future of their events.

Amarjeet Sohi’s comments came Tuesday, one day after the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival put out a plea for financial help.

“We need to think about this very hard. I am going to be having some conversations with my staff, as well as city administration (about) what do we need to do to ensure that sustainability of arts and culture in Edmonton is supported?” the mayor said.

“It is such a critical component of our economy, our economic growth, a lot of people work in the arts and culture sector and they bring so much vibrancy to our city.

“We are known as a city of festivals. So if our festivals are struggling, that is a big concern, and I am going to dig deeper into this and possibly come up with some solutions that may involve some public money but also how we mobilize the private sector.”

The executive director of Fringe Theatre said Monday that skyrocketing costs coming out of the COVID-pandemic coupled with stagnant government funding may lead to a scaled-back Fringe festival this summer.

“This rapidly evolving challenge is threatening the very fabric of our festival and others like it. Without immediate support, our festival will be very different,” Megan Dart said Monday.

1:45 Expenses threaten the future of Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival

The Fringe isn’t the only Edmonton festival that’s struggling.

Terry Wickham, producer of the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, said they are going to be increasing ticket prices this year to keep up with rising costs.

“Post-pandemic, it’s a different world for festivals,” Wickham said Tuesday. “Twenty per cent of festivals like ours in the U.K. went out of business. That’s simply because expenses got too high.

“Whether that’s food, artist fees, the cost of rental equipment… everything went up. Then, of course, the cost of living has gone up so much you have to try and keep your staff so that they can meet their bills.”

Wickham said Folk Fest is lucky in that while expenses are going up, so too are its revenues, because it’s able to increase ticket prices and still have fan support. He said many festivals are dealing with increasing expenses and decreasing revenues.

“It’s the same the world over. It’s the same across Canada. Everybody is dealing with inflation, so higher expenses for all festivals, all arts.”

The Works Art and Design Festival is another popular summer event having to make big changes this year. Typically a 13-day festival, this year’s event has been reduced to just five days.

“It was a hard decision to decide how to best use our resources,” executive artistic director Amber Rooke said. “But I think given the environmental pressures – inflation the way that is has been, fundraising the way that is has been, sort of continuing to rebuild as we come out of the pandemic – this was the best way for us to meet our mandate, which is really about making sure that people have access to that art and that it is a celebration.”

12:08 Addressing all things Edmonton Folk Music Festival

While government funding for the festival has remained consistent, Rooke said it also relies heavily on financial contributions from the business community, which is also struggling post-pandemic.

Rooke said prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the works festival received about $200,000 per year from business partners. Now, it’s more like $50,000.

“Festivals, arts and charities are all under threat,” Rooke said. “For a little while I think it will be the new reality.”

The festival is looking to raise $50,000 in the next eight to 12 weeks before organizers will have to say no to a few projects planned for this year’s event.

“There may be hard decisions yet to come,” Rooke said. “The show will go on … It will happen. It’ll be there. It’ll be impactful. It’ll be a fun thing.”

1:50 Edmonton festival organizers optimistic for record year despite challenges

The executive director of Arts on the Ave, which produces a number of local festivals, said inflation has really hit the arts community. Christy Morin said fuel costs at this past winter’s Deep Freeze: A Byzantine Winter Festival were double what they typically are.

“You’re looking at your budget going, ‘Wow, I need to make sure I wrap that into my budget next year,’” she said.

“I would say a huge piece of it is inflation and then people are a little bit more careful with their money right now… There’s good energy out there, I just don’t think there’s as much money that’s being given away.

“It seems like everyone is hanging on a little tighter.”

Coun. Andrew Knack hopes other solutions can be found, rather than the city having to find money within its current budget.

Knack is calling for changes to the Alberta Traffic Safety Act, explaining that one of the biggest costs for festivals is the policing cost for things like traffic management.

“We can’t change that locally. So what ends up happening is that a lot of the grants we provide to festivals are essentially us paying ourselves. So we pay the festival operator so that they can pay the policing costs. It’s just this weird circle,” he explained.

Changes to the Traffic Safety Act, he explained, could see festivals use security or other volunteers fulfill the roles currently done by police.

“One way to help with these rising costs is if we can change that red tape and you could continue to use your existing dollars more effectively. I’d love to see that change,” Knack said.

The councillor said he has brought his concerns to the province in the past and plans to raise the issue again.

“This is another reason to re-raise this so we can try to make some change so that they don’t have to scramble to try to find money or come to council because realistically, we truly don’t have additional funding to provide in this situation.”

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