On Tuesday evening, council approved the budget for a relatively large-scale headliner and set Friday, June 28 for the 2024 Street Dance.
The Street Dance launches the weekend-long, Heritage Days Festival that winds up on Canada Day, Monday, July 1. Proposed ticket prices for the Street Dance are $30 in advance and $40 at the door (HST included).
Last year's Street Dance with Canadian rock band, The Trews, was a popular event attracting 1,227 ticket buyers.
Presenting the staff report, event coordinator Leigh-Anne Doyle, told the council the staff, “Having direction from council on artist budget will help start sourcing out the appropriate stage, sound and lighting.” Depending on the artist budget chosen, different sized equipment is required.
Doyle presented four scenarios to the council. The artist budget ranged from $10,000 to $30,000. A $10,000 budget could “hire a few different local acts.” A $30,000 budget is for a relatively large-scale headliner plus an additional $5,000 for the opener(s).
Council debated the four options for more than 10 minutes and agreed with the recommendation from the Recreation and Culture Committee that Option A for a relatively large-scale headliner, was the best option.
The logistics of an event this size are significant and ensuring adequate staff and volunteers is challenging. Doyle’s nine-page staff report detailed the requirements.
Noting last year’s demands on staff and volunteers, Councillor Norman Mann commented, “has staff created a deadline at which point, if we do not have someone that’s willing to take on the bar, it comes back to council for discussion?”
While that date is not set yet, Doyle assured Mann that, “I’m going to certainly work on it right away with the group that was a little bit interested.”
Recreation and Culture Committee Chair, Rick Bull, told the council, “The committee decided to go with option A so we could have full input from council. We didn’t want to recommend just option D, which was the cheapest way to put on a concert.”
“I think [the street dance] being one of the bigger events that we do put on, I think we should invest in the extra expense,” Bull said.
Mann wondered, “Just to add to Councillor Bull’s comments, this is one thing that council has grappled with year over year. The cost. Do we look at it as an expense or do we look at it as an opportunity to do something for the community?”
Councillor Charles Flintoff: “I also would like to support what both my councillors just said. It is a really good time of celebration and it's something I think the city needs. All of us were there [last year] and it was a really nice night […] it was an event that we should always keep on doing.”
Acting Mayor Andrew Wannan noted an additional benefit of scheduling the Street Dance on the Friday before the Monday, Canada Day. “After speaking with the artists, they actually loved the Friday night. It allowed them the Canada Day weekend to go home to their families and enjoy a weekend. So, I think that's going to be attractive to some groups that might be interested in coming.”
Council voted unanimously in favour of large budget, Option A.
Heritage Days Festival Street Dance 2024 happens Friday, June 28.