This is TOTAL B.S. The promoter, in my opinion, is lying. I checked the weather conditions for December 11th when they supposedly were "stuck" in Chilliwack due to what they described as a "blizzard" Guess what? NO SNOW. Not from Langley to P.G. No Snow. And now, the day before the rescheduled performance, they decide the logistics of getting here are too tight? Really? Again, I call B.S. Let's hear from Ticketmaster as to what % of the tickets were sold, and I will guarantee you THAT is the real reason behind this. What a farce. I am pissed off.

If the cause of the cancellation was poor ticket sales, it sure would not look good for the Performing Arts Center. Maybe Dan Rogers begged them to say it was weather conditions.

Boo, Hiss! Not sure how I'll tell the kids ... again. NOT impressed.

Hey there Lonesome Sparrow. It was at the CN Centre. I'd really appreciate Elaine and Ben looking into this further. Why lie to the public? If ticket sales were weak, just say so.The promoter I mean. Like Dad use to say, "don't feed me crap and tell me it's steak". This show was a birthday gift for my wife who is VERY dissapointed. AND they won't give refunds till January? B.S. Part II

The OZ production is typically in large venues because it generates larger audiences. In Bellingham thay are playing in a theatre rather than in an arena. The theatre seats 1,500, so they are putting on two shows to accommodate the audience they are expecting to get.

I understand that the PAC proposed for PG is would have a main theatre of around 800 seats. The bigger shows, such as OZ, will continue to play in an arena setting.

Actually, what looks good fro a performing arts centre is that CN Centre is typically selling large number of seats at fairly hefty prices. It shows that it takes a good marketing person to seek the types of shows that a PG audience will enjoy and pay money to see. Two people on here so far who were going to go to this one.

Vikingnuck

It would be pretty hard to have it in the Performing Arts Center as it only exists in Dan Roger's imagination(and I hope that's where it stays.)What I was trying to infer that if Oz was cancelled for poor ticket sales it would not bode well for the PAC.

If it is built it will be a under utilized white elephant. Too small a venue for events such as Oz and too big and expensive for local groups like Theatre Northwest.

This town cannot afford to go another $40 million in debt to build the PAC.

Hey Gus. Not sure that this site is the best litmus for how many people are going to what shows, but the bottom line is the Promoter, Henry Kolenko, isn't being forthright with the reasons for cancelling. The weather excuse from the 11th of December is proof positive

yep, I believe that the ticket sales were poor, and the promoter wanted to cut its losses. I guess, we should cut that promoter from any booking of the CN center with out a bond.

It too bad PG does not get enough true family oriented activities it would have been nice for some families to spend some time together, enjoy a show and have a great time. There are some things for families to do but few that will light up a child like seeing the wiz with the folks. There will be a lot af sad faces both children and parents.

Lack of sales folk's.

And they want to build a Performing arts center at a cost of around $50,000,000

yer right!

I believe seats were going for $55-$75 each. That's a tough sell for a family of three ($165), when one can buy a remastered special edition Blu-Ray for $25. It would have to be something really special for people to fork over that extra cash.

There was not a lack of sales for Elton John. Willie Nelson. Barenaked Ladies, and many others. In fact, the CN centre productions have generally done quite well as far as I understand.

It is all in the hands of the manager and the types of programs he brings in. The same goes for any venue. A performing arts centre would be no different. The money is certainly in this community to attend these kinds of events. That has been shown quite clearly over the last few years.

Bring in a poor show, like the Cougars in the past years, and one cannot give tickets away.

OK. Everybody calm down. I am in the company. The show was canceled on the 12th because our crew could not get to Prince George from Chilliwack. They attempted to travel overnight and the roads were ICE. The trucks can chain up and do 15 km/hour. The crew bus CANNOT chain up. Chains destroy buses. No crew, no show. They sat on their bus for a total of 40 hours attempting to get to Prince George, determining that they couldn't in time to load in the show, then made for the next venue. End of story. Any further conjecture on this subject is just that. Conjecture. Folks, we really tried to make it. We're very sorry we couldn't. Ticket sales had nothing to do with any of this. Scheduling a show in Prince George this time of year is dicey at best. I suggest you have a chat with the local presenter about that.

We cannot afford a new performing arts center.

"The money is certainly in this community to attend these kinds of events. That has been shown quite clearly over the last few years."

Gus. Canadians are in debt up to their eyeballs and so are their (federal, provincial, and municipal) governments, and these already stratospheric debt levels are soaring even higher as we speak.

To borrow a phrase from Bill Bonner. We have an "empire of debt."

Michael Campbell's Money Talks radio show had the following quotes spoken on it last Saturday. I think it is a very accurate description of our (and the rest of the world's present financial situation.

"Way more money has been borrowed than will ever get repaid"

"Way more promises have been made by governments and so on than will ever be kept"

"There is just no way the debt build up everywhere in the western world is not going to have consequences"

Also check out the latest post on The Automatic Earth (blog). There are quite a few good articles about Canada's economy in it.

http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/2010/12/december-21-2010-stoneleigh-and-max.html

Posted by: fu802 on December 22 2010 8:23 AM
OK. Everybody calm down. I am in the company.

"If" you really are then post your real name (fu802??) and what capacity you are invloved with this "production" This show was much like the original Wizard himself. Not real at all, just smoke and mirrors. I suggest the local presenter, who was that again? Should be more forthright in the local media and tell it like it is. Poor ticket sales

Vikingnuck ... nothing will change your mind. For some reason you seem to have some sour grapes or some inside knowledge. Fess up. Which is it. If it is inside knowledge that ticket sales were "poor", wahtever that might be, then tell us. If you do not know, call the CN Centre, ask for Glen. I am sure he will tell you how sales were doing.

http://cncentre.ca/Pages/ContactUs.aspx

Charles .... I think I know and understand your rant by now ........

I am sorry that I cannot stop the world for you so that you can get off.

BTW, Charles ... as socredible always likes to point out ... we have an empire of assets as well .....

Traveling up to Prince George is dicey at best. Well, we up in the north really can not use that as an excuse not to be able to perform a job. Just admitted, "fu" really stands for the 802 ticket payers.

Sorry, its all an excuse.

Well, I did my best to calmly explain the situation regarding the cancelation. You are some very upset folks who refuse to accept the truth. Understandable, I guess. You'll just have to trust that I'm with the company. The fu802 does not stand for what you think it does. But based on the rude comments, I may reconsider.

Vikingnuck ... nothing will change your mind. For some reason you seem to have some sour grapes or some inside knowledge. Fess up. Which is it. If it is inside knowledge that ticket sales were "poor", whatever that might be, then tell us. If you do not know, call the CN Centre, ask for Glen. I am sure he will tell you how sales were doing.

http://cncentre.ca/Pages/ContactUs.aspx

Thank you Gus. I did just that. I did find out that my credit card will be credited automatically, only if you paid cash or debit do you have to wait till Jan 4th to be reimbursed. Glen was apologetic and just reinerated what the promoter has said.I still stand by the fact that the original explanation that they could not get here for the December 12th show due to a "blizzard" which were the promoters words not anyone elses, was BS. I really feel badly for all the parents and grandparents that have to explain this to those kids as well as the kids that were looking forward to performing as the "Munchkins" All in all it is a real shame

I don't understand why those who paid cash or debit cannot be reimbursed until the new year. I'm sure a lot of people could use that extra cash.

Did the Greyhounds stop running as well? Just wondering. I've seen times where they chained up the buses and took five hours to Vanderhoof so they wouldn't be saddled with putting people up here overnight. Maybe some buses have tighter wheel wells but there are a lot of different types of tire chains too. Usually if things are that bad down there they close the highways. I don't remember hearing that. Just wondering, that's all.

The artists named by gus as being successful at CN center have a broader appeal than the artists that would use the PAC. If the "arts" community is so adamant the we need the PAC let's see them step up to the plate and raise even 10% of the cost to build and operate it.


The current city administration thinks that adding two or three new buildings downtown will spur private development. This will not happen as long as the population is stagnant or shrinking.


The way the city is piling up debt we might be the first Canadian city on the list. We don't have to have our "empire of assets " mortgaged to the hilt.


http://www.financialpost.com/news/business-insider/cities+facing+bankruptcy+they+make+deep+cuts/4009896/story.html

Okay ... so you like to name drop

Oldies but goodies .. and the audience here is getting up to that age group.

Huey Lewis and the News - Dec 31
Eric Burdon and the Animals - Jan 14 $44.50
Petula Clark - Feb 5 - $49.50
Michael Bolton - Feb 18 - $69.50
Smokey Robinson - March 5 - $69.50
Credence Clearwater Revisited - Mar 26 - $59.50
Julio Iglesias - Apr 8 - $99.50

Those people all play in smaller venues of 800 or so seats .... River Rock size .....

That's a sample POP events selection. An excellent manager will tweak that to a local audience .... then fill the rest in with some classic music ... classic dance ... a river dance group or two .. a blue man group or two ... a few comedians ... and the remainder with local choirs, dancers, musicians, etc. and one has a busy season at the local theatre the same as any other well-rounded city.

The venue at the Casino here is too small and does not have the proper sound quality nor even the seating quality..

I know, I know ... most people think string sections ... skinny women prancing around in tutus .....

Lonesome Sparrow .....

"The 1970s are widely regarded as New York's nadir. The city had become notorious the world over for high rates of crime and other social disorder. A popular song in the autumn of 1972, "American City Suite," by Cashman & West, chronicled, in allegorical fashion, the decline in the city's quality of life.

US economic stagnation in the 1970s hit New York City particularly hard, as trading on the New York Stock Exchange fell while the city's welfare spending continued. The city neared bankruptcy during the administration of Mayor Abraham Beame but avoided that fate with the aid of a large federal loan. A statement by Mayor Beame was drafted and ready to be released on October 17, 1975, if the teachers' union did not invest $150 million from its pension funds in city securities. "I have been advised by the comptroller that the City of New York has insufficient cash on hand to meet debt obligations due today," the statement said. "This constitutes the default that we have struggled to avoid."[8] The Beame statement was never distributed because Albert Shanker, the teachers' union president, finally furnished $150 million from the union's pension fund to buy Municipal Assistance Corporation bonds. Two weeks later, President Gerald R. Ford angered many New Yorkers by refusing to grant the city a bailout, a decision famously summarized by the New York Daily News headline "Ford to City: Drop Dead."

The New York City Blackout of 1977 struck on July 13 of that year and lasted for 25 hours, during which the city suffered heavy looting and civil unrest. Over 3,000 people were arrested, and the city's already crowded prisons were so overburdened that some suggested reopening the Manhattan Detention Complex that had recently been condemned."

[url]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_New_York_City_(1946%E2%80%931977)[/url]

-----------------------

Been there, done that. The world was going to end. Donald trump was in deep trouble with his real estate iin Manhattan.

Things change. Off course, there are always those who have their heads in the sand ...... and they belong to both sides of the argument.

History really does repeat itself because people simply forget.

Life goes on .... with doers and despite the rest.

As I offered before ... we can stop the world and you can get off right now if you wish while the rest of us carry on.

So one venue is TOO BIG, one venue is too small. Chairs are too hard, chairs are too soft, Ahh - chairs are just right! This city cannot afford the Goldilocks Theatre.

BTW, those were the years I ended up building a house here.... mortgage interest rates in the 14%+ range.

I can see why you are lonesome .... ;-)

"we can stop the world and you can get off right now if you wish while the rest of us carry on."


I don't think that you are driving the bus.

I am not. If you have ever been on a bus, you would know that anyone can pull the cord to get off at the next station.... ;-)

I'm sure someone will tell you when you reach the "well-rounded city" so that you can pull the cord.


Just because the interest rates are at record lows is no reason for the city to borrow for every little whim and desire that they dream up. At some point the rates will rise and when they do, the costs to service that debt will threaten even basic services.


Put the PAC on the next ballot and if approved by the majority I will zip it.

Yes it is disappointing that the show could not go on as planned. Yes it would have made some memories but really people....it's just a show. The kids would be happy to spend quality time doing anything with you. Whether its a show or sitting at home playing games.
For all us over grown kids that didn't get to see the show (and some on here seem to be whining like little 2yr olds) it is the most disappointing for us because we had higher expectations. But there is no need to start blaming people from the production. Those who checked the weather and saw nothing for when they got stuck in Chilliwack are actually believing the weather report. If you weren't there, driving, you have no validity behind your attacks.
With this recent cancellation of the show and how some are getting reimbursed is upsetting. But no matter how upsetting it is, it is what it is. Now those who get there money back in the New Year (which I might remind you was already spent and you weren't expecting it back)is just money back in your account to put towards whatever makes you happy :)

Relationships of ownership
They whisper in the wings
To those condemned to act accordingly
And wait for succeeding kings
And I try to harmonize with songs
The lonesome sparrow sings
There are no kings inside the Gates of Eden



-Dylan

gus?

It's unfortunate that people automatically assume this type of thing (the Wiz cancellation) is due to incompetence, dishonesty, conspiracy, corruptness, or other negative assumptions. If the show had come, everyone would have made a good profit - ticket sales were good in PG. Cancelling the show costs everyone involved LOTS of money. There is no hidden/secret reason the show got cancelled, and nobody is happy about it. The information supplied in the media release by the promoter is accurate and true, and if you don't believe it, it's because you are an arm chair critic who is simply spewing out your negative assumptions with no basis of fact or 'inside scoop' whatsoever.

It's unfortunate that people automatically assume this type of thing (the Wiz cancellation) is due to incompetence, dishonesty, conspiracy, corruptness, or other negative assumptions. If the show had come, everyone would have made a good profit - ticket sales were good in PG. Cancelling the show costs everyone involved LOTS of money. There is no hidden/secret reason the show got cancelled, and nobody is happy about it. The information supplied in the media release by the promoter is accurate and true, and if you don't believe it, it's because you are an arm chair critic who is simply spewing out your negative assumptions with no basis of fact or 'inside scoop' whatsoever.

Speaking of buses. Some of you need to get on the little yellow one me thinks!

Two final comments from me: First to He spoke about the "excuse to not be able to perform a job". I'm just curious about your commute? Mine is between 700 and 1000 km per day (Google our itinerary, I'm not including a link). What's yours? I'm not making excuses and I take offence to the remark. The reality of the situation was that the move was impossible due to weather. END OF STORY.

And to Give more RE: Greyhounds: I have no idea. I just know our bus drivers will not chain up. Our tour will travel over 55,000 km total on those buses, so maybe they don't want to risk damage as we seem to be crossing the continental divide on a daily basis.