” See you soon ! This is the slogan, as well as the summary, of the press release issued on May 24 by the Grouping of major international events (REMI), which could be repeated in chorus by all the organizers of festivals in the provinces. Optimism is in order at the start of the season of cultural events, when the community notes that the public will be there, after two summers of health restrictions. Even the prevailing labor shortage and inflation will not be able to undermine the morale of festival organizers, noted The duty.
At the dawn of the beautiful season for cultural gatherings, “we felt the need to breathe a sigh of relief in public and, at the same time, to invite people to attend festivals again”, explains Martin Roy, President and CEO of REMI, which counts among its members the biggest players in the Quebec summer festival, from the Festival d’été de Québec to Osheaga, via Just for Laughs and the Festival western de Saint-Tite.
Quebecers did not wait to receive the group’s message to answer the call: all festival organizers contacted by The duty claim that the tickets and passports they had released for their event quickly found takers. The 125,000 passes for the Festival d’été de Québec sold out in just over two weeks. For the first time in its young existence, the La Noce festival in Saguenay will be sold out. “We have never sold so many tickets so quickly – we can see that the public’s enthusiasm is really strong,” says Clément Turgeon Thériault, general and artistic director of the Festif! of Baie-Saint-Paul, which takes place this year from July 21 to 24.
“What I hear is that in terms of ticketing, things are going really well,” confirms Patrick Kearney who, in addition to being one of the organizers of the Santa Teresa festival, chairs the board of directors. of the Grouping of Independent Regional Artistic Festivals (REFRAIN). “It was more difficult for a festival like mine which is held at the very beginning of the season [du 19 au 22 mai dernier] : we announced the poster at the top of the fifth wave, people weren’t in the mood for that then… But the closer we get to summer, the more people are able to project themselves into the Festif! or in Tadoussac. »
Martin Roy compares the current situation in the world of Quebec festivals to that which prevailed last summer in the United States: “There, they were experiencing their déconfinement; the whole industry saw a marked increase in traffic in 2021, which seems to have returned to normal this season. It is our turn to experience this increase,” he rejoices.
Labor shortage
An increase which all the same arrives in a context very different from that which the organizers and the public knew before the pandemic. Apart from the moderate fear of a new wave — which hasn’t happened in the last two summers, recalls Patrick Kearney — the shortage of labor affecting the entertainment sector and galloping inflation driving up production costs at festivals have made people nervous organizers.
However, it appears that the labor shortage has not handicapped the festivals, the management having anticipated the pitfall: “We were not caught doing things as before the pandemic, so we It’s taken longer in advance, explains Anne Hudon, president and CEO of Bleufeu, the organization that oversees the Festival d’été de Québec. We recruited via social networks, we called our people back earlier. Where it’s more difficult is the workforce on the ground, such as security; but to recruit stage technicians or beer sellers, things are going relatively well. The labor crisis does not overshadow us, but that’s the reality today: the shortage is glaring at a time when we are trying to restart the entertainment industry.
Similar observation at the other end of Highway 20: “The labor shortage is hitting everywhere and here, it’s not just technicians, cultural workers too, who left to earn their living differently during the pandemic,” notes Laurent Saulnier, vice-president of cultural events and festival programming at Spectra, who confirms that the recruitment of personnel for the Francos and the Montreal International Jazz Festival is practically complete. “We are lucky to be able to offer these people a long period of work, many start with us at the Francos to then be employed at Osheaga and Lasso. »
As for La Noce, “we are experiencing a lot of challenges in terms of security on the site, explains Éric Harvey, co-founder and programmer of the festival. I have the impression that there is a great lack of manpower in this field. We have to bring people from elsewhere into the region, because we don’t have a professional service that can meet our needs. As far as technicians are concerned, we have built up a pool of workers who are loyal to the festival” and who responded to the call, a situation similar to that experienced by the organizers of the Festif! and the Festival de la chanson de Tadoussac, which has extended its recruitment further into the region: “Our problem is not to find employees, but to find where to house them in Tadoussac”, admits Julien Pinardon, general manager of the event.
More costs
Other good news: private sponsors are always there to benefit from the visibility offered by the organizers of cultural events and allow them to balance their budgets, even if Martin Roy of REMI affirms that one-fifth of the members of his group have yet to regain their pre-pandemic sources of funding. “But I think the worst thing for our members is inflation: today, to organize an event of the same magnitude as in 2019, organizations will have to pay 20 or 30% more since the production costs have increased exponentially. »
For some organizations, balancing the budget remains a perilous exercise that will only be measured at the end of the operation. “Because of inflation, our general production budget has taken a big leap,” confirms Éric Harvey of La Noce. Our expenses have increased, but it is also due to the fact that the festival has grown over time. On the other hand, thanks to our performance at the ticket office, we feel safer. »
All the organizations also salute the commitment of government corporations (Hydro-Québec, SAQ, Loto-Québec), major sponsors (financial institutions, breweries, telecommunications) and various levels of government towards the festival industry. Several government subsidy and assistance programs that have been vital during the pandemic have been renewed this year to support the industry in its restart. “Everyone was hypersensitive to our requests, assures Patrick Kearney. They didn’t say, “We’re going back to pre-pandemic funding levels.” We have just come through quite a storm, the boat is a little damaged, the aid must continue”, a request made by all the stakeholders in the area, especially as the rise in inflation continues to disturb the environment.
Thus, the Government of Canada confirmed on Friday new financial assistance intended for the Festival d’été de Québec “aimed at promoting the festival as well as adapting and improving its offer in a post-pandemic context”, assistance which will be in effect until March 2023. “It is historically very generous and appropriate, not only for our relaunch, but for the stabilization of our organization for the coming years”, comments Anne Hudon de Bleufeu.