Mattawa Voyageur Days in the red, but the show goes on

Voyageur Days didn’t come out ahead this year, the deficit came in at $44,811, but the show will go on.

Council has directed staff to begin preparing for next year. “There are pros and cons in everything,” Mayor Raymond Bélanger said, “and I’d like to direct staff to save the date, and we’re going to begin planning for 2025.”

This year’s event cost $453,167.

See: Voyageur Days, Carnaval get government funding

Mattawa Voyageur Days celebrated it’s 25th anniversary over the July 27th weekend. The weather was beautiful, and thousands came out to catch the musical headliners – the James Barker Band and Our Lady Peace – as well as the other acts that took the stage over the weekend.

“There were probably 3,000 people in attendance each day” at Explorer’s Point, Mattawa’s Interim CAO Paul Laperriere said, adding the event drew more, as he saw many people about town who didn’t have wristbands for entry to the main stage at Explorer’s Point.

Ticket sales were forecast to hit 3,665 this year, but actual sales amounted to 2,726, which amounts to “about $70,000 less than we were hoping,” Laperriere said. Another 345 wristbands were given to sponsors, staff, and volunteers, which accounts for the 3,000 people in attendance at the concerts.

“In the end, it’s just under a $45,000 loss for the event,” Laperriere noted. “I’d like to say we’re in the black, but we’re not,” he added. “We are carrying surpluses from the previous year, and our plan is to draw from those to balance the books.”

Mayor and councillors emphasized that the popular annual event brings in many economic benefits for the town – “It’s good for our community,” the mayor said, and makes the town “a destination.”

Mayor Bélanger reiterated Laperriere’s point that “We can cover the loss from previous years” and noted that “because it was the 25th anniversary, we spent in areas where we don’t normally spend, the idea was to thank our community for the 24 years of support.”

There was some speculation floating about town that this might be the last year for the festival, but during the festival, Mayor Bélanger told BayToday that those rumblings were nothing more than rumours, and council stood behind continuing the annual event.

See: Voyageur Days Festival weekend electrifies Mattawa

Speaking at a recent council meeting, the mayor said, “I was there Friday night, I was there Saturday night, and it didn’t look like a festival that was on its way out. I looked at Main Street and it was unreal.”

Indeed, the town estimated about 5,000 people came for this year’s event, enjoying the free concerts in Annie’s Park, the vendors and shops downtown, and the events for kids at the arena and at Timmis Park.

On those kids’ events, Councillor Loren Mick offered the “unpopular opinion” that it might be time to trim back on those particular events. “If we didn’t spend any money on free kids’ stuff it would have made about fifteen grand,” Mick told council. “I’ve said before that I think the festival is more of an adult focus.”

“Maybe a little more face-painting instead of larger acts,” he offered. Those events and activities do add up — $3,395 for the Science North exhibit, $12,000 for the Genoa Circus, and $21,391 for the inflatables at Timmins Park.

Those were the biggest ticket items, but Councillor Fern Levesque cautioned that if you’re going to invite families to town, “then the kids have to have programs and something for them do to.” Plus, the circus at the arena was a big hit, the same with the inflatables in the park. “It was worth it,” he concluded.

No date is set for next year’s event, but plans are underway for the next Mattawa Voyageur Days.

David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.