Alberta’s current economic downturn is having a range of influences on the performing arts in Okotoks.
While some facilities are seeing an increase in bookings and attendance, others are seeing a drastic reduction.
Cuts to household spending seem to be making an exception when it comes to the Rotary Performing Arts Centre (RPAC), says Allan Boss, Okotoks culture and heritage manager.
“We are almost completely booked for 2016 and booking into 2017,” said Boss last week. “People want to be entertained.
“They want to get out of their house and laugh or be enthralled. In times of difficulty the arts are a great escape.”
The number of events booked at the RPAC in 2015 was near capacity at 316, up two events from 2014. There were 100 bookings in 2013. With the facility almost fully booked, Boss said the numbers can’t get much higher.
Attendance at theatre plays, comedy shows, music concerts and movie screenings, which make up for the majority of bookings, almost doubled from 2014 to 2015, said Boss.
Bookings for various private events throughout the year including weddings, birthday parties and life celebrations are also on the rise, and Boss expects bookings will continue to increase.
“When you look back at Canadian theatre history, and many other countries, in times of strife, especially financial difficulty, people tend to find an outlet in artistic ventures,” he said. “The arts tend to thrive in times of difficulty.”
The situation is quite different at the Foothills Centennial Centre.
Bookings have dropped at least 60 per cent from 2014 to 2015, says manager Tina Niles-Hook, and it isn’t looking any better this year.
“It’s very slow,” she said. “People just aren’t booking big events. We get these little meetings, but we are not getting the concerts or big weddings in the summer months.”
Niles-Hook said the reduction began a year and a half ago. It’s not just bookings being impacted, but also attendance.
For instance, weddings that previously boasted up to 225 family and friends has shrunk to an average of 80 attendees, she said.
“It’s really kind of sad,” she said. “I hear from people that they just lost their job or they still don’t have a job.”
With the centre run by a not-for-profit organization, Niles-Hook said it has to take the loss out of the reserve fund, and she’s not sure how long the fund can keep the centre afloat.
“There’s just days and days where there is nothing (scheduled),” she said. “I’m hoping that it picks up a little bit.”
On the other end of the spectrum, Dewdney Players Group Theatre is on a high breaking attendance records at two of its three plays this past season, said Dewdney president Ed Sands.
Last fall’s performance of Calendar Girls saw 1,200 in attendance with six of its nine shows sold out, compared to the long-standing record of 765 attendees at Steel Magnolias in 2008.
The children’s pantomime Cinderella last season sold around 1,000 tickets, said Sands.
When it comes to entertainment, Sands said people want value for their money and Dewdney delivers.
“Okotokians will spend money if they get value for it,” he said, adding tickets are $20 or $15 for seniors and students. “You just can’t beat that value.”
At the Okotoks United Church, the weak economy seems to have had little impact on bookings - which often include recitals and small concerts, says Denyse Geiger, office and facilities administrator.
“We have a very steady stream of regular people who use our facility,” she said. “We only had one small group that sounded like we were a bit past their price point.”
Geiger said the last season, which ran from the fall of 2015 to the spring of 2016, stayed “fairly steady.”
“We may have had one or two new groups that used the facility, but I would say it stayed very similar to last year’s season of bookings,” she said.
Despite these harsh economic times, the performing arts are receiving an added boost.
Canada Council for the Arts was approved an additional $40 million in federal funding this year and incremental annual increases leading up to an additional $180 million for 2020/2021. The council, which had a $180 million budget last year, will receive $550 million additional dollars in total.
“That’s going to bode well for the arts,” said Boss. “Artists and artistic organizations are going to have more money to promote the creative economy. I think governments are recognizing that communities aren’t built on business alone.”
Boss said these community events link cultural development with economic development.
“Businesses won’t set up in communities that don’t have something going on,” he said. “You need to invest in culture and in heritage in order to make a great community.”
He said the impact of Okotoks’ flourishing arts is starting to be seen in the downtown core, where many festivals, events and markets are held throughout the summer such as last weekend’s Taste of Okotoks and farmers’ market, said Boss.
“We’ve got all this energy in the downtown core and I would suspect if we keep it up we are going to see a renaissance in Olde Towne Okotoks,” he said. “If we keep making things happen like the community market and all of the festivals, there is more energy that is going go come downtown and businesses will be attracted to that and will start to establish here.
“If there are 10,000 to 15,000 people walking by your door on any given weekend that’s pretty good advertising.”
