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Annual Davie Street Party cancelled

Vancouver Pride Society says costs too prohibitive
Davie Street Party
The annual Davie Street Festival has been cancelled for 2018. Photo VPS

The Vancouver Pride Society has cancelled the annual Davie Street Party for the 2018 Pride season due to the high cost of policing, security and traffic management.

A news release posted on the society’s website, reads in part, “VPS board and staff reviewed our financial position and budget after our 2017 fiscal year end to determine how to best recover from a posted deficit. The Davie Street Party is our most expensive event to produce.

The City of Vancouver and regulatory costs for this event are approximately $79,500 with policing/security/traffic management being over $37,000 of the total cost. It was determined that this event would need a substantial amount of additional partnered support or cost reductions to make it happen in 2018.”

The party, which takes place the same weekend as the annual Pride Parade, is a highlight of Pride Week in Vancouver.

The society says at the beginning of 2018 it consulted with its long time partners, including the City of Vancouver, about collaborating and finding ways to reduce costs. But despite hard work on everyone’s part, a solution wasn’t found. 
“We will continue to work with our event partners and the City of Vancouver to reimagine the event for 2019,” the release continued.
Last year the street party cost the society more than $209,000.  

sthomas@vancourier.com