Powwow. (Photo 1967727 © Jim Parkin | Dreamstime.com)

By Alessia Proietti

City council approves $95,000 funding

Three big events may be coming to Red Deer over next two years

Mar 28, 2022 | 5:11 PM

Red Deer should be expecting three new events coming to the city within the next two years.

City council approved at Monday’s meeting $95,000 in sponsorship funding to be distributed for the three occasions through the Event Hosting & Outgoing Event Sponsorship program.

Following the cancellation of the IIHF World Junior Championship in December and the UCP in-person vote in Red Deer last week, Bre Fitzpatrick, Land & Economic Development Officer for the City, says these new events are expected to highly increase tourism.

“The economic impact of these three events is anticipated to provide over $95 million to our community over the next two years,” said Fitzpatrick.

The $95,000, intended to further the development and diversification of the events, are to be distributed as follows:

to be handed out may 27

Red Deer Catholic names St. Patrick's teacher as Edwin Parr Award nominee

21m ago

231 calls to justice

Walk this Sunday in Red Deer to remember all missing & murdered Indigenous people

36m ago

Watch Your Speed

Photo radar locations announced for May

1h ago

• $20,000: 2022 Canadian Men’s Senior Golf Championship
• $25,000: 2022 Red Deer International Powwow
• $50,000: Canadian International Air Race Championship

“Events like these serve to develop a strong local connection to events, illustrate what Red Deer can offer, support the recovery of hard-hit industries, and showcases the strong volunteer leadership local citizens offer to events,” said Mayor Ken Johnston.

The Canadian Men’s Senior Golf Championship is set to take place from Sept. 5-9, 2022, with over 160 players from across Canada and internationally and attract 500-700 spectators. Requesting $20,000, the event is sanctioned by Golf Canada and to be promoted through their marketing channels. The Red Deer Golf and Country Club will host the event and will also celebrate its 100^th anniversary at the same time. The event is expected to bring in over $387,000 to the local economy.

The International Red Deer Powwow, scheduled for Oct. 21-23, 2022, initially requested $60,000. With over 1,000 participants involved and an estimated 5,000 or more spectators, the event is expected to bring in $2.5 million. Their second international event in Red Deer is aimed to honor Indigenous languages and offer an educational experience to Central Albertans on Indigenous Culture, Arts and Truth & Reconciliation. Hosted at the Peavey Mart Centrium, the event will consist of traditional powwow activities like drumming, with singers and dancers from across North America. There will also be a trade show and a youth conference.

The Canadian International Air Race Championship is said to be an internationally world-class aviation festival for three days in July 2023. Requesting $50,000, it is expected to impact the city the most, bringing in $91.7 million, with over 200 teams involved and 30,000 spectators per day. The event aims to address industry skill shortages by engaging youth in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education, particularly in aviation.

“We are glad to support these events as they showcase our community on the national and international stage,” said Mayor Johnston. “These events highlight some early successes of our Major Event Strategy and Destination Development Framework (MESDDF) in bringing diverse events of all sizes to our community, celebrating sport, festival and culture.”

The MESDDF was approved by city council in April 2021 to position Red Deer as a “premier tourism and event destination in Canada”, according to council’s meeting agenda.

Rene Rondeau, Executive Director of Tourism Red Deer, supported the funding, echoing similar reasons as the mayor, in a letter to council.

The City’s Event Hosting & Outgoing Event Sponsorship Fund was established in 2020 to support events in Red Deer. It has supported past events such as the Canadian Finals Rodeo, Pickleball Canada National Championship, Men’s AAA National Championship and the WHL Cup.

Applications for funding are made through The City’s MyEvents portal. Prior to the three requests, the remaining funds totaled $166,100 for event sponsorship and $70,000 for activation funds.