The majority of people that have attended shows at Creekside Theatre this year in Lake Country have come from the City of Kelowna.
And while that may be a good indication the theatre can be a regional music venue attracting a wide segment of Okanagan music lovers, it also puts the spotlight on the fact the theatre has room to grow when it comes to bringing in local fans and acts.
In ticketing information from 2016 at the theatre—the first time ticket purchases have been tracked— the sales figures put 60 per cent of people coming from Kelowna, 30 per cent from Lake Country and 10 per cent from Vernon.
“I think one of our targets moving forward will be trying to increase the number of people from Lake Country going to the Creekside Theatre,” said Ryan Donn, theatre manager and Lake Country’s cultural development coordinator.
“My goal is to figure out how do we get it so we can support our local emerging talent but sell the tickets as well so we just don’t have a great show no one is watching, we have a great show everyone is watching.”
The latest show at Creekside might be one of the highs of Donn’s first year since becoming the theatre manager.
It was a high-end act (Bif Naked) on a unique tour that sold out quickly. But with the hits have come the misses such as the popular Angel Awards opting for a better deal in Kelowna after hosting its event at Creekside this year.
Part of the reason the Angel Awards opted for Kelowna was the fees to rent the location.
Those fees—what’s paid by community groups to utilize the theatre—are under review and a report is expected to come to Lake Country council by the end of the year.
Donn says his first year as manager has been about trying different acts out to see what is popular in Lake Country. A big part of his focus moving forward will be keeping the local flavour.
“We’ve had two shows that didn’t work as well and those were the more local acts so what I need to do is look at those variety type shows,” said Donn.
“The Angel Awards was a variety of talent so I think that’s what works. The question is how do we get and attain them?”
Donn says he would like to partner with local events such as the Open Mic Has Talent show, which will host its finale in the Creekside Theatre for the second time this coming year and continue to move artists from the Lake Country Open Air concert series into the theatre.
“I want the Creekside Theatre to be a little something for everyone: The emerging artists can move from their coffee shop gigs to the theatre and also I’d like to capture the artist that might be big but also enjoys an intimate show.”
