Uptick in Stampede parties signals a recovering economy, says event organizer
'This is the first year that we've seen it starting to come back'
Stampede parties have always been an economic barometer for the city: when the economy recovers, so does the Stampede party scene. Calgary event planner Pat McGannon, the president of PM Gigs, spoke to The Eyeopener on Tuesday about how the party scene looks for this year's Stampede.
Q: Is it true that as the civic economy goes, so goes the Stampede party scene?
A: I'm not going to kid you. I really miss 2014. That was a great year for our gigs. Oil was nice and high: $112 a barrel. People were very open and receptive to celebrating.
Q: And then things tightened up a bit? Or should I say, they fell off a cliff?
A: It really did. For us, it's been four years that we've been hoping, anticipating, knocking on doors, that business is going to rebound. This is the first year that we've seen it starting to come back. I'm going to use the phrase "cautiously optimistic."
Q: How about the idea that companies can't be seen to be throwing anything too lavish? Is there an optics factor that you have to take into consideration?
A: That is really true. There's an optics factor, and nobody wants to be called out for what can be viewed as lavish and reckless spending. I think events have gotten, maybe not a bad name, but they've had [to contend with] that perception that it's an expense, not an investment.
Q: How have Stampede parties changed?
A: They are obviously a lot smaller. There's less numbers of people [attending them]. The budgets we're given to work with for entertainment are a lot smaller, so where [at one time] we would be looking, potentially, at a headliner with potentially a lot of profile, [these days] we're down to solos, duos, trios, DJs, or background music.
Q: So less Aerosmith, more banjo players?
A: That's the way it is. We're not complaining.
It's very good for our local musicians that we're able to employ. I'm really proud to be able to say that 100 per cent — all of our musicians [and] bands — are from Calgary.
Q: That's fantastic. So in a way, it's good for someone: Calgary's music community?
A: They really are. And we've always done our best where we can to gravitate to [hiring] local.
Q: And yet you remain "cautiously optimistic" that things are bouncing back?
A: One of the things we're certainly starting to notice is that the internal employee event is coming back. That was one of the first things that got cut [following the 2014 oil crash]. Internally, [companies decided] we're not going to have a [Stampede] event.
The client event — the hosting of the client, the customer — that focus has not really gone away. That's still happening. Maybe what they do with the customer isn't necessarily as big. It may be smaller groups, it may be premium seating at the Calgary Stampede. But [now] the internal employee event is [also] coming back.
People are celebrating again, and celebrating each other — and employees have been through a lot in Calgary.
Q: Parties used to welcome people in right off the street. It doesn't seem as if that's the case anymore.
A: First of all, there's just not as many of them as there used to be.
Back in 2014, I had 180 shows in 11 days go down. This year, we may top out at 100, 110 shows if we're lucky — and that's really great for us. So there are just not as many
And guest lists are tighter. [Companies are asking] who are we inviting, and why are we inviting them?
Q: Will we ever get back to the old days?
A: I don't know if they'll ever get back [to where they used to be]. I think companies are still going to be prudent. They're going to focus on [answering the question] what makes sense for us as a business.
Q: And despite all that, a lot of cities would love to have an event as identifiable as the Calgary Stampede.
A: I completely agree with you. I go to conferences in the U.S. that are event-based, and they all know the Calgary Stampede, and they also know the tag line, the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.
They all know that.
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With files from The Eyeopener.