Summer in the City gears up for 2024

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This article was published 17/03/2024 (427 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Only small changes will be made to Steinbach’s Summer in the City festival, planned for June 14-16.

Members of the Summer in the City board of directors met with Steinbach council on Tuesday, making a presentation in front of the strategic priorities committee.

Board chair Audrey Harder recapped their reason for existing, which is “to promote and celebrate diverse communities through arts, culture and heritage”.

She also led council through a recap of last year’s event, noting there were many improvements over 2022 including a higher seating capacity for the concert area, more ways for Wonder Shows ride users to purchase tickets and wristbands, a beer garden set up by the Steinbach Pistons, and increased popularity for Cultures in the City.

However, the festival did come in over budget ending with a deficit of $25,000 on a $390,000 budget.

That was not unexpected, Harder said.

“We predicted it last year,” she said. “Part of that was making our investment into our branding and making sure we had everything set up to reduce costs in the future.

This year, with a budget of $406,450, Harder said they expect to achieve their financial goals.

Summer in the City also has a reserve fund which currently sits between $50,000 and $60,000.

While it’s impossible to do an accurate count of crowds at the free street festival, Harder said they make estimates based in part on the number of people accessing rides.

“It’s easy to say there’s 40,000 on the street over the weekend,” she said.

This year’s headliners have been booked, and an announcement is expected in the coming week.

Harder said there are also some small changes this year.

That includes relocating the Sunday afternoon music to the stage at Lumber Avenue and Main Street, increasing the area for the car show, and adding more seating for Cultures in the City.

This year will also feature even more cultural food booths.

A new website is expected to go live in the coming weeks, which will give volunteers a chance to sign up.

Harder said she appreciated the opportunity to meet with council and said their questions show they are engaged and interested.

“The city has always been very supportive,” she said. “They’ve always been positive.”

In fact Steinbach offers the largest chunk of the festival’s funding with a grant of $65,000. Additional grants bring their total funding revenue to $126,000. Sponsorship revenue of $110,000 and total sales revenue of $165,450 makes up the remainder of their operating funds.