Festivals & Events in Metro Vancouver

[whatnext]

Funny how the Parks Board bureaucracy can't maintain the train yet some farmer by himself can. Firefighters Burn Fund fundraising was down 50% this Xmas without the train. From Global this week:

How a B.C. farm maintains a twin of the Stanley Park mini train on a fraction of the budget
By Jordan Armstrong Global News
Posted January 11, 2023

When the Vancouver Park Board announced last year the Stanley Park Train was not going to be able to operate for Halloween and Christmas, it said the issue was the train is “antique” and needs “highly-specialized service and maintenance.”

Technical Safety BC said in a statement there were a number of issues with the attraction including corrosion and damage to both the track and railcars, overgrown vegetation disrupting sight lines and decaying infrastructure, as well as a requirement for a full condition report from a third-party contractor certified to inspect this type of train.

But a farmer on Vancouver Island said he manages to keep his miniature train, the same make and model as the one in Stanley Park, on track.

Rob Galey runs Galey Farms in Saanich and he said while it takes work, keeping the train running is possible....

https://globalnews.ca/news/9404180/s...ain-questions/

[s211]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Funny how the Parks Board bureaucracy can't maintain the train yet some farmer by himself can. Firefighters Burn Fund fundraising was down 50% this Xmas without the train. From Global this week:

How a B.C. farm maintains a twin of the Stanley Park mini train on a fraction of the budget
By Jordan Armstrong Global News
Posted January 11, 2023

When the Vancouver Park Board announced last year the Stanley Park Train was not going to be able to operate for Halloween and Christmas, it said the issue was the train is “antique” and needs “highly-specialized service and maintenance.”

Technical Safety BC said in a statement there were a number of issues with the attraction including corrosion and damage to both the track and railcars, overgrown vegetation disrupting sight lines and decaying infrastructure, as well as a requirement for a full condition report from a third-party contractor certified to inspect this type of train.

But a farmer on Vancouver Island said he manages to keep his miniature train, the same make and model as the one in Stanley Park, on track.

Rob Galey runs Galey Farms in Saanich and he said while it takes work, keeping the train running is possible....

https://globalnews.ca/news/9404180/s...ain-questions/

Unions and bureaucrats. A perfect storm for wildly over-priced job protection.

[whatnext]

Bad news for folk music fans:

Crushed by post-pandemic bills, Vancouver Folk Music Festival won't return in 2023
-Members to vote on Feb. 1 on whether to dissolve festival society
CBC News · Posted: Jan 17, 2023

The Vancouver Folk Music Festival will not be returning to the city in 2023, as the changing event landscape and rising production costs leaves the long-term future of the event hanging in the balance.

A statement from the festival's society on Tuesday said it would take an extra $500,000 to produce a festival this summer, which would be "unfortunately not realistic or sustainable" with its current cash flow.

"We came back in 2022 to find the festival environment greatly changed," read a statement from Mark Zuberbuhler, president of the festival's board.

"On top of costs continuing to rise, we are also facing new financing challenges, which makes the production of the festival unsustainable."...

....The three-day festival has been a fixture of the region's arts and culture scene for nearly 45 years. Consistently one of the most popular celebrations, the festival found success in its heartfelt community atmosphere and commitment to bring concert-goers music from all over the world — from bluegrass to Celtic folk and indie rock.

"This is a legacy festival, a legendary event," said Erin Benjamin, president and CEO of the Canadian Live Music Association...

... Benjamin said the situation facing these festivals is contributing to a larger issue — the struggle for performers to find venues to play in and build their careers.

"Live music in general ... continues to face numerous hurdles as a result of the pandemic and the economy," Benjamin said, noting that financial supports put in place during the early months of the COVID pandemic are no longer available....

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...2023-1.6716682

[SpongeG]

the Folk festival has been saved and will return!

Vancouver Folk Festival Confirms 2023 Edition Will Go Ahead
"Your outpouring of support over the last few months has given us the courage and strength to move ahead"

By Calum Slingerland
Published Mar 16, 2023

Just over a month after announcing an effort to save their long-running fest, organizers behind the Vancouver Folk Music Festival have announced plans to proceed with their 2023 event.

The 2023 Vancouver Folk Music Festival takes place July 14 to 16 in Jericho Beach Park. The lineup for the fest's 46th edition has yet to be announced.

Following January reports that their 2023 festival was cancelled, and was at risk of never returning, organizers now share, "Our plan is to use the 2022 festival as a template for this year's festival. We are working with contractors, artistic advisors, and vendors to make that happen."

...

https://exclaim.ca/music/article/van..._will_go_ahead

[Changing City]

Big changes to the Pride Festival and Parade. "The new route will start at Davie and Denman Street, follow Beach Avenue to Pacific Street, and end at Concord Community Park near Science World for the festival." "The Pride celebrations will culminate in a two-day long festival in False Creek on August 5 and 6" [Georgia Straight]

[officedweller]

Granville Block Party this weekend
(Granville & Robson)

https://www.dtvan.ca/granvilleblockparty/

[Conrad Yablonski]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Granville Block Party this weekend
(Granville & Robson)

https://www.dtvan.ca/granvilleblockparty/

Let's Get Stabby Everyone!

[jollyburger]

She estimated that the festival generated $1.9 million this year, which is down from more than $2 million last year and $2.5 million in 2022.

Pre-pandemic, the festival tended to have budgets in the $4-million to $4.5-million range. In 2021, when the festival operated largely online, the budget was about $1.6 million, Horvath said.

Municipal, provincial and federal grants generate about half of the VIJF's budget, with corporate sponsorships providing about 13 per cent of the budget. Individual donations and sales for tickets, concession items and merchandise largely provide the rest of the revenue.

The corporate-sponsorship slice of the budget was 15 per cent last year, and 35 per cent in 2022, so it has been on a downward trajectory.

The festival had more shows this year than last year, with about 170 performances up from approximately 140 shows in 2023. About 50 shows were free, and those shows attracted the vast majority of the festival's approximately 100,000 attendees, Horvath said. That attendance was on par with last year, she added.

The festival sold 5,382 tickets out of a possible 6,346 for Vancouver ticketed shows, for about 85-per-cent capacity, according to Horvath's data. That does not include attendance at nightclubs or for North Vancouver ticketed jazz shows, she said.

https://www.biv.com/news/entertainme...s-cuts-9214839

[Migrant_Coconut]

Sounds like it's the "selling tickets" part - people are a little more picky with their disposable income these days. Khatsahlano's free, and that one seems like business as usual.

[officedweller]

Jazz may also appeal to an aging demographic.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Jazz may also appeal to an aging demographic.

The demographic that has the money then. You’d think TD might want to reconsider given how blackened their reputation has been by money laundering lately.

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7212059

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by whatnext

The demographic that has the money then. You’d think TD might want to reconsider given how blackened their reputation has been by money laundering lately.

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7212059

TD still sponsors a few other jazz festivals in Canada including Montreal and Toronto FWIW.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

TD still sponsors a few other jazz festivals in Canada including Montreal and Toronto FWIW.

You have to wonder why they dumped Vancouver. Just another Central Canada institution ignoring the West?

[Forager]

Hey folks, I'm on the board of the Lumiere Festival -- Vancouver's light, performance, and art festival that takes place in November. This year, we're going big with a huge iconic piece that will be up for a month (in addition to other pieces that will be around the downtown core). The big issue we're facing is that many of our previous sponsors have pulled back due to tight budgets and/or a focus on other initiatives (e.g. Indigenous, women, youth-led events). We're trying to eventually grow this festival into a winter cultural festival that lasts throughout the winter months.

If anyone has any contacts for sponsorship, that would be wonderful! We're not necessarily looking for cash sponsors, but in-kind sponsorships work as well (but cash is king!)

Here's a link to our website for anyone who's interested: https://www.lumiereyvr.com/#home

Thanks, all!

[SpongeG]

Fusion Festival this weekend in Surrey

• Video Link