Photo credit: Grande Prairie International Street Performers Festival Association/Facebook.

By Curtis Galbraith

City Hall

New city funding means street performers festival will not have its first-ever deficit

Jun 7, 2024 | 6:00 AM

The Grande Prairie International Street Performers Festival found itself in an unfamiliar position going into its 24th year in 2024.

It was looking at its first-ever financial deficit before city council approved another $17,000 in funding at Monday’s meeting.

Festival co-founder Wayne Ayling says many non-profits are still feeling the effects of COVID.

“We’ve never carried a deficit at all, and, in fact, we’ve always been able to put a little bit of money aside for a rainy day up until last year.”

“Last year, due to changes in the revenue side of things, we had to use up our rainy day fund.”

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Ayling says costs have gone up a lot since 2019 and sponsorships have also changed.

“There were a couple of sponsors who changed their focus from a local nature to a provincial nature and, as a result, we were left looking for new sponsorship support.”

“We’re in the process of re-designing our sponsorship ask so that next year, we won’t have to come before council.”

Ayling says the work to change the sponsorship program will begin after this year’s edition is over.

He adds in the past, a few sponsors provided larger amounts of money, but the market has changed.

“We’re going to be asking more people to provide on a basis that we feel would be appropriate to more people’s ability to support local.”

The festival will run July 19-21 in downtown Grande Prairie.

Some of the performers will be taking their acts to Beaverlodge, Wembley and Sexsmith for what Ayling refers to as “regional teasers” in the days leading up to the main show.

The one in Wembley is on July 16, then Beaverlodge on July 17 and in Sexsmith on July 18.