Event restrictions loosen, but Edmonton venues still face hurdles to fully reopening

Alberta has loosened some restrictions on event venues during the COVID-19 pandemic, but for many event spaces this isn't translating into an immediate rise in business.

Stage 2 of Alberta's economic relaunch during the COVID-19 pandemic began on June 12 and allows for indoor events of up to 50 people and outdoor events of up to 100, including parties, weddings and non-vocal concerts.

Kyla Kazeil is a co-owner of The Common, a restaurant and bar in Edmonton, and 99ten, a live music and event space. Her businesses have taken a careful approach to reopening to the public, with 99ten still temporarily closed and The Common taking its time to reopen until they were sure it would be safe for their employees and customers.

"We also don't want to be pushing it too hard or too fast. If we could open 99ten tomorrow with our 125-person occupancy, we wouldn't," Kazeil said. 

"When you're part of a community, you have to make these decisions."

She added Stage 2 doesn't change anything for her businesses as physically distanced 50-person events are still difficult to hold in their spaces, and may not even be financially viable after performer fees. With the hit that musicians have taken during the pandemic, Kazeil said she wants to ensure that when The Common and 99ten host concerts again, they can help artists recover on the other end, even if she's unsure when this will be.

"I feel like when it does get going, we'll definitely want to be compensating these artists properly because they've taken a huge hit," Kazeil said.

In the meantime, she said the public can support artists by buying their music and merchandise, and help event spaces by supporting the ones reopening safely.

Kazeil said 99ten may start holding some small events in the fall, but it would be about 10 per cent of what they're used to, adding that she expects restrictions of some kind to continue well into 2021.

On top of this, even though restrictions have been lifted on how many people can eat at local restaurants and bars, physical distancing between tables is still required and large bookings still aren't allowed, something she finds customers are often unaware of.

Another downtown event space dealing with the confusion of the COVID-19 pandemic is The Foundry Room. 

Foundry Room co-owner Eva Tamayo said they've allowed some COVID wedding packages with 10 guests, livestreaming and physical distancing. They can now raise the number of guests under Stage 2, but are still hesitant to bring back other services they collaborate with like food distribution, as a spike in active cases could change what they're allowed to offer again.

Tamayo said it's been difficult adjusting to provincial guidelines already, with how much has changed since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Initially, the Foundry Room had to reschedule all of their events until September believing there would be no social gatherings allowed until the fall, only for the provincial government to then allow larger and larger events through different stages of the relaunch.

"That was a really hard thing to process because that would have been three months with no income, nothing we can do," Tamayo said.

"I don't think we were really prepared for the amount of changes that needed to be done."

Now, the Foundry Room has received a flood of requests about what can be done in Stage 2, Tamayo said. Some are confident they'll still be able to host their events this fall and winter, while others are opting to postpone until 2021.

The hospitality industry overall has been one of the hardest hit sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic, said Kris Harvey, operating partner at the Chvrch of John, an Edmonton nightclub.

His business, which hosts concerts and DJ events, is completely shuttered until Stage 3 of Alberta's relaunch allows nightclubs to reopen. In the meantime, Harvey has teamed up with more than 75 businesses around the city to form the Edmonton Independent Hospitality Community. The group helps each other navigate the pandemic.

Harvey hopes this group can be included more in conversations with Alberta Health Services and the provincial government to receive clearer communication about why some restrictions are lifted and others remain, and to advise on concrete steps toward reopening.

"Hundreds of us on soapboxes yelling independently don't get as much attention as one organized group. We're luckily able to put ourselves together and have a common voice," Harvey said.

Some attempts to help nightclubs like the Chvrch of John haven't been helpful, Harvey said. They're now allowed to sell prepackaged alcohol, but still face difficult competition from liquor stores and don't make much profit from these sales anyway.

The ban on vocal concerts has also been difficult for Harvey to understand. 

"It feels like we're living in Footloose," Harvey said.

There are alternatives that could be considered like screens between musicians or outdoor concerts with enough distancing, Harvey said. He hopes more communication with the province will allow Edmonton to again become a strong music city.