Bring on the crowds

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/03/2023 (903 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Gone are the days of “limping along” to fund events — at least, that’s Pamela Hardman’s hope.

The Downtown Winnipeg BIZ is relaunching a grant to draw events to Winnipeg’s core.

“We know that having people here is really what is going to drive economic activity for downtown businesses,” said Hardman, the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ’s marketing director.

Just 41 per cent of downtown office workers had returned full-time last fall, according to a Probe Research poll.

The Downtown Winnipeg BIZ offered its Host It Downtown grant in 2020 and 2021 — it’s been around since 2015 — but uptake was sparse, Hardman said.

“Through the COVID years, we sort of were limping along,” she said.

She’s looking to a brighter 2023 with “more of a normal year.”

“We want to see some of those beloved events back,” she said.

The BIZ has $75,000 to disburse among organizations hosting events downtown. One-third, or $25,000, comes from RBC Convention Centre, the grant’s sponsor. The latter money is from the BIZ’s operating fund.

“I hope (downtown visitation) gets better each year,” said John Scoles, owner of Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club.

He’s eyeing an event grant from the BIZ. He took one last year, worth $1,200, and launched a family dance party in the summer.

The program drew more than 100 people, Scoles said.

The BIZ’s latest round of event grant applications opened Monday, with a limit of $20,000 per event available.

“We’re very much on the same page as the Downtown BIZ,” Scoles said. “If the community entertainment industry downtown isn’t focusing on (bringing people back), I’m not sure that we’re doing our job.”

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He plans to offer more afternoon and early evening programming this year.

The BIZ is evaluating events’ potential attendance, cultural representation and economic impact before opening its purse strings.

The preference is for free events, Hardman said.

The Downtown Winnipeg BIZ also plans to restart previous years’ draws to Winnipeg’s core, including its concert series and farmers markets.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com

Gabrielle Piché
Reporter

Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle.

Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.