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By Caden Fanshaw

PRINCE GEORGE

How an absence of events has changed our community

Mar 25, 2021 | 8:43 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – It’s been over a year now since the doors closed on many public facilities that would’ve normally held.

As the numbers show, our city has lost out on millions of dollars in that sector alone due to the pandemic.

What was once a local economy injection of around $5 million annually, will be a fraction of that for 2020, and likely 2021.

But the effects stretch far greater than dollars.

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“Having these events really gives people a sense of belonging to their community, and we are really missing that right now,” says Marleen Morris, Co-Director of the Community Development Institute at UNBC.

Morris says there are four factors whenever a community hosts an event.

One being the organizers and volunteers, two being the local community, three being the tourism sector and those not from the area, and four being the suppliers.

Morris says the community feeling has largely gone away since the events started being cancelled a year ago.

The positive energy and atmosphere that comes with an event on any scale, large or small, brings with it a sense of civic pride.

All of that has been greatly reduced since our “normal” became something other than what we had been used to.

There is good news though, as Event Planner and Organizer Kyle Sampson says there are plenty of discussions in the industry for getting back to normal.

The City of Prince George says they are ready to launch back onto a National and International stage when it is safe to do so.

The first chance the region may get will be when the city hosts the BC Summer Games in 2022.

The 2020 World Women’s Curling Championships, the 2021 Female U18 AAA Esso Cup bid, along with a number of other sporting events and conferences have all been cancelled.

There are multiple sources in the city who have said there are ongoing discussions to host the lost events in the future.