Summer festivals bounce back from gloomy forecasts

Ticket sales to summer festivals and the performing arts are surprisingly strong this year, despite the recession.

Arts groups say the trend to "staycations" and some extra federal cash have made a difference to their bottom lines.

There was deep gloom in the arts sectorlast fall, when the stock market crash cut into endowment funds and ticket sales plunged.

At the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, things looked bleak in January with ticket salesdown 15 per cent in Canada and even more to people coming from the United States.

"In January, there was no guarantee things were going to get better. Things could have been significantly worse," said Stratford's general director Antoni Cimolino.

But now, West Side Story is a big hit and the festival's Shakespearean productions are also filling theatres.

"I'm delighted at how things are bouncing back," Cimolino told CBC News.

He credits the $3 million Stratford received from the federal government's new Marquee Tourism Fund for turning things around.

The Conservative government is handing out $100 million to festivals across the country to pay for ads, marketing and promotions.

"It's made a big difference instantly. I mean as soon as those extra ads went into play in April things began to turn around," Cimolino said.

Sales are down from last year, but a disaster has been averted, he said.

In Montreal, the International Jazz Festival also got money from the Marquee Tourism Fund.

Thousands of people flocked to Montreal for the 12-day festival this July to see Stevie Wonder and other headline acts, despite the chill in the economy.

Organizers say they'll break even on their $30-million budget.

Even groups that didn't receive the federal stimulus money, such as Toronto's Soulpepper Theatre, say their plays are 85 to 90 per cent full.

Soulpepper's executive director Leslie Lester thinks people are embracing theatre, ballet and concerts because they're sticking close to home this year.

Tourism marketers are seeing a trend to "staycations" vacations taken at home among Canadians.

"It's accessible, it's cheaper than air travel and we're putting on really good entertainment for good dollar value," Leslie said.

In this economic downturn, people are also seeking out bargains.

The National Ballet's Kevin Garland says more tickets are being sold this year than last because of deep discounts on last-minute tickets for young people.

"I think people are recognizing that there's real value to things that have to do with quality of life as opposed to things like flat-screen TVs," she said.