Last year started out “gangbusters,” said Cheryl Vickaryous, Al’s wife and business partner at Barndog Productions.
They were staffing Juno-related events in Saskatoon and their summer was booked solid.
“We were 50-60 per cent higher than the year before in revenues,” said Cheryl. “And as soon as the Junos cancelled, I got I don’t know how many calls a day cancelling, cancelling, cancelling.”
Festivals and outdoor concerts went on pandemic hiatus across the Prairies and into Ontario — big events in Saskatoon, Minnedosa, Dauphin, Thompson, Thunder Bay, which were meant to have multiple Barndog stages at each.
Business is worse than the Vickaryouses have ever seen since they founded their company in 1987.