Party over at First Energy as it cancels annual Stampede party

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The party is over at FirstEnergy Capital Corp.

The investment bank has cancelled its Calgary Stampede bash, an annual institution here, as Alberta's economic woes worsen and job losses pile up due to the collapse in oil prices.

Putting FirstRowdy, as it is known, out to pasture after two decades was a tough decision in a city where western-themed corporate parties form a circuit during the 10-day Stampede each July, the company said. This one had a large fundraising component to it, along with big-name musical acts and free-flowing libations. Over the years, it raised $3-million for numerous non-profit causes.

FirstEnergy hosted the parties, and the firm's guests, including clients and colleagues, wrote cheques to the charities its foundation supported, said Jim Davidson, chairman of the energy-focused investment dealer.

"They did it willingly and joyfully and repeatedly over the years. But those same individuals right at the moment are under duress, and we felt that the environment wasn't appropriate to run an event this year," Mr. Davidson said in an interview.

Instead of holding a big hoedown, FirstEnergy will donate $100,000 to four charities focused on helping people cope with the downturn caused by the collapse in oil prices, he said.

Shelving the party will save the firm about $400,000.

"So with a heavy heart we made the decision to cancel it, but kept the charitable aspect alive by donating the money ourselves," Mr. Davidson said.

The move is the latest retrenchment in Canada's energy economy – though this hits at the heart of the city that serves as home base for the sector. Indeed the Stampede is a part and parcel of Calgary's global brand, as Mardi Gras is to New Orleans and Oktoberfest to Munich.

Direct job losses in the industry are estimated to have surpassed 41,000, and indirect cuts are much higher. Those include layoffs in the investment business. Corporate cost-cutting has taken its toll on all expenditures, and that likely means more Stampede parties will get cut or downsized.

Peters & Co. Ltd., another energy-focused investment bank, has yet to decide if it will proceed with its popular soirée, Firewater Friday, which takes place on the first evening of the Stampede, its president Chris Potter said in an e-mail.

The oil patch is shelling out less on parties, but companies in other industries in Calgary still see the events as important networking opportunities and are moving ahead with Stampede plans, said Pam McCarthy, president of Five Star Events, a local party-planning company. In fact, she said she gets exasperated reminding people that other industries are thriving.

"Our entire economy isn't only oil and gas. I've got clients that are law firms, are in software, insurance, manufacturing and real estate who aren't cancelling their parties," Ms. McCarthy said. "However, I recognize that some industries are."

The Stampede itself is proceeding, but sponsorships have fallen with the energy sector's fortunes, as shown by the tarp auction in which companies bid to paste their logos on wagons used in the rodeo's signature chuckwagon races.

In early March, the auction netted $2.3-million. That's down roughly 18 per cent from last year's haul of about $2.8-million, and more than 34 per cent below proceeds in 2014, when the auction raised more than $3.5-million.

"We're not immune to the downturn in the economy, but we do know that Stampede is a place and a time when Calgarians embrace our culture, and it does have a positive impact on our community as a whole," Stampede spokeswoman Jennifer Booth said. "We are a resilient bunch as Calgarians, and it's a time every year that people really need."

Over the years, FirstRowdy featured such musical headliners as The Barenaked Ladies, Colin James and Blue Rodeo, which western-clothed guests enjoyed shoulder-to-shoulder, drinks in hands.

Last July, the energy downturn was approaching its first full year, but FirstEnergy decided to go ahead with its party as a respite.

"We carried forward even though many of the events were cancelled last year, but at some point you have to come to the conclusion that it is flying in the face of the difficulty that we're all going through," Mr. Davidson said.