Corporate Calgary spending big bucks celebrating Stampede
Posted Jun 13, 2013 7:29 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The owner and president of The Event Group says not only are Stampede bookings up by 20 per cent but so are the dollars being spent.
Dave Howard tells 660News in his 15 years of organizing and putting on Stampede parties, 2013 will likely end up being the best ever with his clients spending an average of $100,000 on bashes.
Howard says Stampede party spending did dip following the recession back in 2008, but has rebounded considerably since then with one company this year budgeting $600,000 for its bash.
He also says 90 per cent of his clients are including some sort of charitable component as well, realizing the importance of giving back to the community.
Sharon Barwick with Simply Elegant says her bookings are on par with last year, but she finds the size of the gatherings keeps getting larger.
Barwick has also noticed a couple of other trends: more and more firms are throwing their Stampede parties in the weeks leading up to Stampede, and the emergence of food stations.
Both Barwick and Howard say Calgary’s hospitality industry is fortunate to have something like the Stampede on the yearly event calendar.
Howard describes some of the Stampede party plans as “off the hook.”
