Summer is getting close and with it, some of the city's favourite attractions – Bard on the Beach and the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival, and in the fall, the Vancouver International Film Festival.
"I've read the tea leaves over 23 years here and I think this year will be a breakthrough year for us in terms of filling our new capacity," said Christopher Gaze, Bard's artistic director and founder.
Running from May 31 to September 22, the festival opens with The Taming of the Shrew at Vanier Park in the BMO Mainstage Theatre, which was unveiled last year and which boosted seating from 520 to 742. BMO bought the naming rights for $500,000, payable over five years.
Attendance increased last year to 84,000 from 79,000 in 2010. But revenue did not keep pace.
"Yes, we had more people but the amount of money that came with them was less than what we expected," Gaze said.
To be accessible to more people, the festival charges less for matinees, which led to a lower dollars-per-ticket rate than expected.
"In hindsight, one can see some reasons for this: we had many more seats for all performances and people will grab the lesser-priced seats first," said Bard managing director Robert Barr. "We believe that the economy had something to do with accentuating this natural behaviour."
This trend resulted in a 2011 deficit of $353,962 for the Bard on the Beach Theatre Society, compared with a surplus of $33,469 in 2010.
While Gaze hopes to break 100,000 attendance this season, Bard's more conservative 2012 budget projects 88,000 and a deficit of $150,000.
The news is better for the Coastal Jazz & Blues Society, which produces the Jazz Fest and reported a surplus of $142,427 in 2011, compared with a deficit of $159,263 the year before.
"We managed to rein in quite tightly to be able to do that," said Fatima Amarshi, who became executive director in 2010. "In 2011 we had to cut very significantly our year-round programming."
After controlling costs and introducing efficiencies last year, she said this year is shaping up well with the festival from June 22 to July 1 as the flagship event.
"What we've been doing for 2012 is really focusing on investing into the festival. We look to grow from here on in. We are going into this year expecting a deficit, but it is an investment-based deficit. You'll see more money spent on much more diverse programming."
Attendance in 2011 decreased to 520,000 from 525,000 in 2010. Amarshi said she expects an increase of between 50,000 and 100,000 this year.
On May 9, Amarshi announced the free opening weekend June 23-24 will move from Gastown to the grounds of the Vancouver Art Gallery and Robson Square. An arts and music village on the site will include three live performance stages and two outdoor licensed bistros.
Alan Franey, festival director and CEO of the Greater Vancouver International Film Festival Society, said the film fest is fortunate to have had only a few years of deficit. "That's because of the high levels of support we've enjoyed from not just government and corporate support but from the attendance every year."
Attendance last year was 152,000 compared with 148,000 in 2010. Projections are for 150,000 attendees this year from September 27 to October 12.
"Globally, we are considered a very successful event," Franey said. "We've budgeted very conservatively."
In 2011, the Film Festival Society's surplus dropped to $34,008 from $123,356 the year before.
At the same time, the society has been saving toward the $2.5 million it will need for 2025 when it takes over responsibility from the building's developer for maintenance costs of its downtown Vancouver venue, the Vancouver International Film Centre. At the end of 2011, that fund reached $1,064,307.
The society is in the midst of a $250,000 two-year investment plan that includes an upgraded ticketing system, a new website and social networking tools. More than $500,000 has been invested in digital projectors since the theatre opened in 2005.
Another key investment has been hiring executive director Jacqueline Dupuis to focus on finances and operations. She was formerly director of the Calgary International Film Festival.
