Live Events: Turning Up the Volume on Our Economy

In Medicine Hat, a great event – like Jazz Fest, Spectrum, or Stampede – does more than simply fill a weekend for us locals. These events fill hotel rooms, restaurant tables, patios, venues and shops. It gives residents something to mark on their social calendars, visitors a reason to come here, and local businesses a great opportunity to connect with new customers at the exact moment the city feels most alive.

Music festivals and community events are often talked about as mere entertainment, but the fact is that they’re also part of our local economy. When people attend a festival or event, their spending rarely stops at the ticket booth. They buy coffee before the show, dinner after the show, a hotel room for the night, drinks on a patio, snacks for the kids, or a new product they discovered from a local vendor.

That ripple effect matters. For a city like Medicine Hat, events help connect tourism, downtown vibrancy, arts and culture, hospitality, retail, and local entrepreneurship into an opportunity to grow.

Events give people a reason to spend time in the city

One of the most impactful things an event can do is create a reason for people to visit and explore a city. Most locals already know that Medicine Hat has strong lifestyle assets: sunshine, safety, coulees and trails, great food, a growing arts and cultural scene, and a downtown core that continues to grow and evolve. Cultural events help package those strengths – our strengths as a community – into a reason for people to get out and explore.

That’s where festivals and music programming transform from entertainment into powerful drivers of our local economy. Visitors may come to town for a show at the Esplanade or Co-op Place, but they will also interact with the rest of the city. They are introduced to local restaurants, shops, and neighbourhoods they may not have explored otherwise.

For Hatters, live entertainment can also change ingrained spending patterns. Instead of staying at home or travelling to another city for entertainment, these events give residents a reason to get out and spend money at local businesses. That spending activity keeps money circulating within the community and allows our business community to directly benefit from cultural activities within Medicine Hat.

The impact goes beyond the stage

The most visible part of live entertainment is the performance and the crowd. However, that’s the proverbial tip of the iceberg. The less visible and often forgotten part is the broader network of local venues, suppliers, and workers that ensure things run smoothly for visitors and locals alike.

Behind every successful festival or concert are event organizers, technicians, venues, advertising and marketing support, food trucks and vendors, equipment rentals, hospitality workers, and so much more. That broad reach ensures that cultural spending often goes beyond a given the hosting business or venue. Festivals and cultural events support small businesses, contractors, artists, non-profits, tourism operators, and service providers across our city.

Events also help create a sense of momentum and activity. A lively downtown core, full theatres, and packed patios send an important message: this community is active, creative, and worth spending time in. That kind of vibrancy not only supports hospitality and tourism industries but enables broader economic development within the city. People are more likely to invest, relocate, start a business, or accept a job in a place that feels energetic, alive, and connected. Those characteristics are exactly what live entertainment and cultural events accomplish.  

Medicine Hat’s event calendar is an economic asset

Medicine Hat’s event economy is not built on a single attraction or venue. It consists of a mix of festivals, live performances, cultural gatherings, and seasonal experiences. Events such as the Grand Slam of Curling or Jazz Fest bring live entertainment into venues and gathering spaces across the city. The Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre provides a year-round anchor for concerts, theatre, touring performances, and cultural experiences. Tourism Medicine Hat connects visitors with annual festivals, artisan workshops, local food and drink, Indigenous gatherings, and other experiences that help define the city’s visitor economy through their event calendar. 

Together, these events create more than a moment of enjoyment. No, far more than that, they create reasons for visitors to stay longer, explore more, and spend locally. They also help reinforce Medicine Hat’s identity. Festivals and music events bring those qualities to life in a way that a brochure or website never could. A visitor can read about Medicine Hat being welcoming and sunny, but an event lets them experience and truly feel it.

Why this matters for local businesses

So, we know that events bring visitors to the city and give people a reason to spend and explore. Yet, the biggest mistake businesses can make is assuming the event will do all of this for them. A festival may bring people into the city, but that doesn’t guarantee that every business will see additional customers as a result. Businesses that want to capitalize on an event need to give those people in attendance a reason to stop. Those businesses that plan ahead are usually the ones that benefit most.

That does not always mean a major campaign. In many cases, a simple tie-in promotion can make a difference. The key is to think about what visitors or eventgoers need before, during, and after the event. Exploring ways to fulfill those needs – and getting that information to visitors – is the key.

Practical ways to leverage cultural events and festivals

Local businesses can start by identifying the major events that align with their customer base and building small, repeatable promotions around them. A few practical ideas include:

• Create a wristband or ticket-stub offer. A small discount, bonus item, or exclusive menu option for event attendees can be easy to promote and easy for staff to apply.
• Extend hours when demand makes sense. If an event ends late or starts early, adjusted hours can help businesses capture traffic they would otherwise miss.
• Build a themed product or menu item. This gives people something timely that connects with what’s top of mind to them. 
• Partner with another business. A hotel, restaurant, retailer, and attraction can cross-promote a simple offer or itinerary.
• Use sidewalk signage and window displays. Visitors may not follow local businesses online. Clear street-level messaging can turn passing foot traffic into customers.
• Post before the event, not only during it. Many attendees plan ahead. Social media posts should start days or weeks in advance so people can save locations, make reservations, and share plans.
• Make it local. Visitors want experiences they cannot get anywhere else. Highlight local ingredients, local artists, local makers, Medicine Hat history, or products tied to the city’s identity.

For Medicine Hat, this is the opportunity: not only to host great festivals and events, but to build more local economic activity around them. A strong event weekend can introduce a visitor to the city. A strong community-wide approach can turn that visitor into a repeat customer, a future resident, a business connection, or an advocate for Medicine Hat.

Music festivals and events bring people together. They create energy, pride, and shared experiences. But they also create economic opportunities. When local businesses are ready to meet the moment, that opportunity can last well beyond the final song.

For more information on events within the city or to get tickets to a show, check out Tixx.ca