Lethbridge Electronic Music Festival in Galt Gardens in 2022 (Photo: Neil McElmon)

By Sarah Jones

Annual Lethbridge Electronic Music Festival cancelled due to funding issues

Apr 25, 2023 | 2:07 PM

LETHBRDIGE, AB – After more than a decade of bringing electronic dance music (EDM) to Southern Alberta, the Lethbridge Electronic Music Festival (LEMF) has been cancelled.

For the past 11 years, thousands of people have flooded Galt Gardens as part of the all-day music festival that promoted inclusivity and live music.

In a recent social media post, president of the organizing committee for LEMF, David Fritz, also known as DJ Marty Funkhauser, explained that it’s simply not feasible to put on a show in 2023.

He said the event will not go ahead in 2023 due to a lack of funds.

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According to Fritz, the City of Lethbridge grant that LEMF normally accessed to put on their free one-day event was capped at a maximum of $10,000 in 2023, whereas in 2021 and 2022, it maxed at $25,000. LEMF received $15,000 in both 2021 and 2022.

While the Heart of Our City (HOC) Activity Grant was previously maxed at $10,000 before the pandemic, escalating event costs due to inflation have drastically changed the expenses of the show.

Fritz explained, “Changes with the grant, it’ll definitely be tough to come back next year. We hope too, but you know just coming out of the pandemic, our costs have basically doubled and tripled in the last 10 years since we started.”

He continued, “Last year for example, our budget for the entire festival was just under $50,000, that’s in comparison to our first year, while we only had one stage in our first year, our budget was around $10,000 to $11,000.”

Image of the Lethbridge Electronic Music Festival taking place in Galt Gardens in 2022. (Photo: Neil McElmon)

Expenses for the ticketless event include booking artists, insurance and production.

The City of Lethbridge indicated that the change in maximum funding was due to the number of applications and a desire to maximize the diversity of the funding to as many applicants as possible.

In the past two years, many events applied for $25,000 and yet were being awarded much smaller amounts, which caused challenges for organizers.

During the 2023-2026 Operating Budget Deliberations, a new initiative was brought forward for Lethbridge City Council’s consideration recognizing a gap in adequate funding for mid-sized events like LEMF, yet it was not approved in the budget.

Without the additional funding, the HOC and administration reviewed the Re-Imagine Activation Grant, and it was decided to lower the maximum back to $10,000 to spread out the limited funding to as many events as possible.

Attendees enjoy the Lethbridge Electronic Music Festival in Galt Gardens in 2022. (Photo: Neil McElmon)

Fritz said, “Money is tight everywhere, but we really need arts in Lethbridge.”

“If we’re going to have a vibrant downtown, we need to be cognizant that grant maximums need to be increased. A lot of our festivals downtown, with the way things are, they are just going to dry up or disappear unfortunately.”

The City of Lethbridge confirmed that LEMF could have applied and received upwards of $10,000 in 2023 for the festival.

However, Fritz explained that while they normally received the grant in January, the announcement to apply for the HOC Activity Grant did not occur until March, meaning funding wouldn’t be distributed until April. Fritz said that was too short of notice to account for festival planning.

Regardless, Fritz explained that the EDM community in Lethbridge has been extremely supportive in light of the decision to cancel.

Festival-goers at the Lethbridge Electronic Music Festival in Galt Gardens in 2022. (Photo: Neil McElmon)

He said, “You know, we’ve promoted a family brand from start to finish and we’re super proud of that.”

“We had like 500 people the first year and then we were hosting huge events that got 5,000 to 6,000 people, so it’s been amazing and really rewarding. You know, we need community in these times, the world is really divided right now, so it was nice to kind of create something where pretty much everyone can go and feel like themselves.”

Looking ahead, Fritz shared that other smaller EDM shows will continue to take place throughout Lethbridge, including a Unified Vibe event taking place at The Onion Bar & Grill on May 6, 2023.

Fritz concluded, “You know if you’re unhappy with LEMF not being there, maybe write to the council and let them know that we need to be a little more cognizant of what’s going on with our festivals and our grants.”

Read more at LethbridgeNewsNow.com