[Locke]

I read this a week or so ago and I found it pretty interesting.

They call it the greatest outdoor show on earth — but increasingly, the Calgary Stampede is becoming more costly for the city’s business community to participate in.

As inflation continues to hit the wallets of many Canadians, now corporations may feel the pinch with the Calgary Stampede just over two weeks away.

“What we’re seeing this year is that the cost to do a lot of these corporate events has gone up,” Howard said.

“So, cost of bands has tripled some of those A-list bands staffing has tripled. I mean, bringing in registration staff where we used to pay $20 an hour — they’re demanding $50 an hour… and then finding the proper field to run event.”

Darren Kershaw with Special Event Rentals said the company is seeing a lot of demand compared to the last three years of the pandemic -— good business for the rental industry.

He said back in 2019 if they needed tables, they could purchase them at $80 each — but now, those can range somewhere between $130 to $140 and it’s not just around Stampede.

“It’s all year round. It is weekly, monthly,” Kershaw said.

“When we’re trying to buy things, we try and hold off thinking it’s got to get cheaper, but I’m sure everyone who’s bought a used car thought, ‘Oh, they’re gonna get dropped. They’ve got to drop.'”

But he said that hasn’t happened.

“My fear is that those costs don’t creep down and we just live in this inflationary world, but I don’t know… I just have to react to what the market is doing.”

https://globalnews.ca/news/9785328/c...e-party-costs/