Dekker Centre General Manager Kali Weber gives her presentation at Monday's city council meeting. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW staff)

By Angela Brown

Concerns about PST coming

Dekker Centre stays optimistic despite challenging times

Jun 28, 2022 | 4:11 PM

The Dekker Centre for the Performing Arts is reporting a challenging past year during the pandemic but is optimistic for future growth in the year ahead.

General Manager Kali Weber presented the 2021 audited financial statements for the
non-profit at North Battleford city council’s meeting Monday.

“The past two years have not been easy, but it feels wonderful to be presenting these statements to you in person for the first time in two-and-a-half years,” she said.

Revenues from event sales and in-house shows were 70 per cent under the budget goal this past year, due to the impact of the province’s COVID-19 restrictions. The centre was not permitted to have more than 30 people in the theatre until about the end of June 2021.

On a positive note, rental revenue saw a large increase for four months when the Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs Inc. (BATC) held a COVID-19 vaccination clinic for the community.

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“Navigating the ongoing pandemic for 2021 and even into 2022 has presented definite difficulties,” Weber said. “We have only seen about a 21 per cent fill-rate in our Dekker Centre Presents shows for this past season.”

However, she noted there was an increase in demand once restrictions began to lift in the province around March 2022.

Accessing provincial and federal government grants helped the organization keep its head above water in 2021. As well, staff were also able to enhance their skills through a re-opening training subsidy that was available.

The organization was also able to follow through on some of its goals.

“We have been able to meet our strategic plan’s imperative of putting away five per cent of our operating budget by the end of this year,” Weber said, among the year’s highlights.

Also in 2021, the organization was able to host an Indigenous focus panel to discuss governance and operational changes to increase engagement with the local Indigenous community, work it plans to continue in the future.

Shows coming up

Looking ahead, the Dekker Centre board and management are planning some positive additions for the 2022-23 season.

The organization received a large grant from the federal government to purchase technical equipment to be able to host concerts in the outdoor area at Rotary Plaza, located near the CUplex. The Dekker Centre will build an outdoor stage and is planning three events for the space, two of which will be announced later this week.

Another highlight, the Dekker Centre Presents’ Series will kick off the facility’s 10-year anniversary this year with a show featuring country star Johnny Reid on Sept. 2.

“We sold out that show in one hour,” Weber said, adding that the rest of the 2022-23 season events will be announced on August 8.

“I’ve been sharing the season with potential sponsors and we’ve received a lot of feedback regarding the diversity of both performers and the genres we are presenting,” she said. “That means that, given all the ups and downs of navigating the pandemic as a performing arts centre, we look forward to our 10-year celebration with immense positivity and hope that we can keep building that capacity within our organization.”

Weber also took the opportunity to thank the city for all its support.

PST a concern

Mayor David Gillan mentioned he is hearing a number of communities in Saskatchewan are concerned about how a new PST charge on entertainment being rolled out by the province in October will impact the performing arts industry.

“All 16 city mayors have agreed to send one joint letter to the province to ask them to rescind it,” he said. “It doesn’t mean [the province] are going to.”

The mayors are questioning the province’s decision to add this additional tax, just as Saskatchewan is coming out of Covid and organizations like the Dekker Centre “have taken it so hard on the chin,” Gillan said.

Weber said she plans to promote the new season so some people can purchase their tickets, prior to Oct. 1, 2022, when the tax goes into effect.

She adds the Dekker Centre is also encouraging more people to purchase tickets to shows by setting ticket prices at around the $20 to $35 range on average as an incentive.

“We are trying to keep things affordable,” Weber said.

–

angela.brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW