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Council to discuss future of LaSalle Strawberry Festival

A bowl full of strawberries and ice cream served up at the LaSalle Strawberry Festival
A bowl full of strawberries and ice cream served up at the LaSalle Strawberry Festival

LaSalle council is set to discuss the future of the LaSalle Strawberry Festival after the annual event posted a small deficit in 2024.

A report going to Tuesday's meeting recommends several options to save money or increase revenue for any future festivals.

Attendance reached 28,458 people in 2024, down from the 31,997 that attended in 2023, with cooler-than-usual weather combined with some rain, getting some of the blame for the decrease.

Strawberry and ice cream sales were also down 25 per cent with 4,640 orders compared to 6,125 orders in 2023.

The administration report says the decrease in admission revenue and strawberry and ice cream sales, along with higher park setup costs, led to a deficit of $2,721.

Children ride a rollercoaster at the LaSalle Strawberry Festival at the Vollmer Complex in LaSalle.
Children ride a rollercoaster at the LaSalle Strawberry Festival at the Vollmer Complex in LaSalle.
LaSalle Mayor Crystal Meloche says the event is still successful in her books, but they still need to reevaluate every year.

"We're talking about a $2,700 deficit, but you have to remember that over those four days, we had well over 28,000 people coming into the community," she says. "So it still is a very successful event; it's just this year we had a little bit of that weather that caused those admission levels to go down a bit, as well as strawberry and ice cream sales. Those are the two significant things we saw change."

Meloche says they have to sit down and make some decisions even though the deficit was small.

"If you keep having a deficit every year, then you're going to have an issue," she says. "Right now we do have funds in a reserve to cover that, and we have to make some decisions going into next year. Are there items that we can eliminate? Are there changes we can make for savings so that we don't operate in a deficit next year?"

People attend the LaSalle Strawberry Festival at the Vollmer Complex in LaSalle. June 8, 2024.
People attend the LaSalle Strawberry Festival at the Vollmer Complex in LaSalle. June 8, 2024.
Options in the report going to council include continuing operating the festival at a loss and using festival reserves to cover the costs.

Council could decide to cut back on non-essential options to reduce costs, including the elimination of the parade for a savings of $5,000, eliminating the family thrill show for a savings of $15,000 to $20,000, or reducing the entertainment on Family Day for a savings of $2,500-$6,500.

There's also the option to raise the cost of strawberries and ice cream or raise the cost of admission, which hasn’t increased in nearly a decade, to increase revenue.

Meloche says she is worried about cutting items that would impact attendance because people look forward to what they offer.

"There will be some complications with removing some items if we were to reduce things. On the whole, we offer a lot at the festival; there's a lot going on," she says. "This is really a chance for us to review everything that we put on through the year and where our expenses are going. Are there things we can cut that wouldn't significantly impact the experience our families are getting?"

LaSalle council meets Tuesday, Nov. 26, at 6 p.m. in council chambers at the LaSalle Civic Centre, 5950 Malden Rd.

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