On the weekend I attended a concert in this city, put on by a relatively prominent Canadian musician. It was a good concert, though when I arrived I couldn’t help but think “this parking lot should be more full than this.” When in the building, I couldn’t help but add “and there should be more people in the seats.” Shows in St. Albert, Saskatoon and Rhostern had sold out, but here it did not.
Someone could blame the organizers, but they would be wrong, because the organizers did a fine job and have a history of bringing quality music to the city. Someone could blame it coinciding with the Oscars or a spell of cold weather, but it has been a fairly consistent problem with a lot of events in the city. In short, Yorkton, as a city, we all need to get out more.
I know there is a definite compulsion towards being a hermit, especially in the winter when the outdoors is cold and the indoors is nicely heated. My house has movies in it, as well as games and a nicely stocked library of music. Also, if I leave it I will be cold, while if I stay inside I will not be cold. So I am sympathetic to those who want to just stay indoors, stick to the entertainment that doesn’t involve braving freezing weather in order to enjoy. I am among your number, I cannot deny it.
But the problem is that if we don’t get out, we miss opportunities. If musicians expect poor ticket sales when they come to this part of the country, they’ll think twice about returning. If events can’t bring in crowds, what’s the point of hosting the event in the first place? It stops being a missed opportunity at a certain point, because the opportunities will stop happening. Instead of concerts where you wish you went, it will become concerts you will never attend because they are not happening at all. Soon all opportunities for entertainment will dry up because nobody thinks it’s worth taking the trip to Yorkton. If that happens, then it’ll just be a lack of entertainment overall.
Which is not to say that we, as a community, can’t stem the tide. It won’t take some elaborate trick to make concerts and events worth attending. The effort is simple, when something that looks like it could be entertaining happens, just go. Good movie in the theatre? Go see it. Good concert somewhere? Go attend it. Some kind of gathering sounds fun? Go to it. Think someone else will enjoy it? Tell them, so they can’t say later “I wish I would have heard about that.”
Now naturally there will be events and performances that you will not enjoy, and I’m not saying everyone needs to turn out for everything. It’s just that when attendance is low, especially for an artist that sells out in other venues, I think that many people who would enjoy that show have missed out, and instead of enjoying some excellent live music they were doing something much less entertaining. That’s a shame, and it just leads to a future where people are perpetually missing out and never able to enjoy things that would definitely appeal to them and the people they know. I know it’s cold, I know it can be expensive to get out and I know that some people have difficulty making the time. However, we still need to make that effort to leave the house sometimes, it makes life more fun.
