Entertainment and sporting events in holding pattern as Omicron variant rages on

CALGARY -

Many major events have had to cancel or postpone as uncertainty grows with the rapidly spreading Omicron variant.

Big Winter Classic, a massive music festival in Calgary, scheduled for January 27 - 30, is now on hold. Adrian Urlacher, the founder, says his team met Friday afternoon to discuss their plan B.

“With the restrictions in place it makes it impossible to run an event and try to be true to what you do as an event, which is to create community and gatherings. It was a very tough decision,” said Urlacher.

Close to 100 bands were scheduled to play with 4,000 expected to attend the four-day festival.

Calgary Folk Music Festival’s Block Heater was supposed to release its full lineup Friday but delayed it due to the uncertainty around Omicron. In a statement Kerry Clarke, the artistic and marketing director said,

“We’re cautiously planning the seventh annual Block Heater, slated for February 17 - 20. We’ve done a soft announcement of the dates, venues and six of the 30 artists but are delaying our full announcement and tickets on sale while we monitor the constantly evolving situation.”

Jim Cressman, President and co-founder of Invictus Entertainment Group, who often books major music artists at the Saddledome says it’s been an ongoing cycle of uncertainty and has been frustrating for the industry.

“I feel terrible for the artists and musicians,” said Cressman.

“These people really only make money when they’re on the road and their livelihood has been taken away from them.”

HOLDING THEIR BREATH

Outside the music industry, other event planners have also been holding their breath and pivoting when needed.

Lenora Kingcott, Executive Producer of Bridal Expo, has up to 1500 people attend her yearly event. While she was able to host it in the fall of last year, the one in 2020 was cancelled.

“It was a huge financial hit because deposits were lost and a lot of investments were lost,” she said.

“I think we’re all in a holding pattern right now, whether we are a guest going to an event or whether we have tickets to things, I think that everyone is in a holding pattern.”

The organizers of ESSO Minor Hockey Week are going forward with their tournament, which kicks off Friday, and are hopeful it won’t be cancelled, like the World Juniors Hockey tournament and the ESSO Golden Ring tournament.

“We know that Omicron is a very contagious and we are doing everything to fall in line with AHS guidelines and government guidelines and we are just hoping we can continue to have an exciting week of hockey,” said Kevin Kobelka, Executive Director of Hockey Calgary.

Kobelka says ESSO Minor Hockey Week only involves players from Calgary and there won’t be out of town teams.

The scaled-down opening ceremony starts at 7:30 pm at Max Bell Arena. Over the seven days, 800 games will be played at 50 different arenas.

Late Friday afternoon, the Calgary Philharmonic announced it has cancelled its next two concerts, including Yuja Wang in Concert on Jan. 15 and 16 and Diana Cohen Performs Mozart on Jan. 21-22.

The CPO plans to resume its winter series Feb. 5.