Vicki Proulx of Vernon Winter Carnival addresses Vernon council with her concerns on Nov. 28. (Liam Verster/Vernon Matters photo)

By Liam Verster

$27,000 for concert

Winter Carnival says venue rental fees are ‘excessive’

Nov 29, 2022 | 5:00 AM

The Vernon Winter Carnival Society is raising concerns about the fees they are being charged by local government to hold certain events, even though they are a non-profit, community group.

The society will be presenting The Snowglobe Concert featuring The Reklaws at Kal Tire Place on Friday, Feb. 10, and a kickball tournament on Feb. 11 and 12 at Grahame Park.

“The accessibility and affordability of booking city venues seems to be a difficulty we keep coming across,” Vicki Proulx, executive director of the Winter Carnival Society told Vernon council on Monday, Nov. 28.

“We were dismayed when booking the Grahame Park ball diamonds (at Fulton Secondary) for our kickball tournament to learn that we had to pay full price for the diamonds in the middle of February. And when we booked Kal Tire Place for the concert, we were shocked to learn that the rental price tag is sitting at $27,000, and that is the non-profit rate.”

Proulx told Vernon Matters following her presentation the rental costs are prohibitive for non-profit organizations such as the Winter Carnival Society.

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“Kal Tire Place is supposed to be a multi-use facility, yet we haven’t had a concert there in over five years,” Proulx remarked.

“We’re really excited to be bringing a concert here in February, but as a non-profit organization, the price tag of $27,000 seems a little bit excessive, and we’d love for the city to have a look at those prices and make sure that these facilities are accessible to non-profit organizations, and really any organization, in our community, or someone who’s looking to bring an event here.”

Proulx added there should be some sort of variance for using a ball diamond in February rather than in the summer months, but currently they are having to pay full price.

“We’re supposed to be a partner with the City of Vernon. We would appreciate having a look at the costs structures and what fees are in August versus in February. I don’t think we should be paying the full price for that,” Proulx said.

She noted the high rental costs will result in patrons paying more for some events in order for the society to not go over budget.

“All of this costs money, and as a non-profit organization, we can only do so much for free. There is an expectation with Winter Carnival that a lot of events are free to the community, or affordable, and the more money we have to spend on these venues and the rentals, the more money that tickets are going to have to cost,” Proulx told Vernon Matters.

“Grants and sponsor funding can only take you so far, there has to be some financial sustainability and if we are constantly struggling to make ends meet to make a small amount of money, ticket prices have to go up.”

When speaking to council, Proulx also stated the costs could be prohibitive to other organizations looking to hold events in Vernon in the future, saying it could lead to the city losing out on events that could bring in millions of dollars in revenues to other area municipalities.

Proulx asked council to research how much other area municipalities charge non-profits for venue rentals, and to provide Vernon Winter Carnival with more affordable rental rates for the arena and the diamonds this year.

Council acknowledged that they had heard complaints of the high rental costs from other non-profits in the past, and noted a sub-committee has been formed through the Tourism Commission to investigate the costs.

“We’re really just hoping things can change,” Proulx told Vernon Matters.

“The amount of events that we have in Vernon could be doubled if we just make the process a little bit easier and a little bit more accessible to people.”

Council accepted the delegation for information, but no action was taken to address the rental rate issues.

“This is something that has to go to staff and come back,” Mayor Victor Cumming told Vernon Matters following the meeting.

“All of our pricing for all of our facilities we handle once a year, and it goes to council, it gets reviewed and it comes back and that’s exactly what we do on all costs to rent different facilities.”

It was noted that budget deliberations would be held in early December, and this topic may be discussed during those meetings.

Proulx noted there were some concerns about a lack of free or affordable events being held this year, but told Vernon Matters there were some, such as the snow sculpture contest, the parade, and the balloon glow, that will be balanced with events that require paying to attend.

“Although all the money goes back into the society to make the festival bigger and better for next year, we can’t be running a deficit.”

The 63rd Vernon Winter Carnival will run from Friday, Feb. 3 to Sunday, Feb. 12. The schedule of the 135 events included in the carnival can be seen in the online brochure.

Proulx noted that, pre-COVID, the Winter Carnival would see over 40,000 people attend events, and hopes this year will see a similar turnout.