BONNYVILLE – The show won’t go on.
The Bonnyville and District Chamber of Commerce and the Bonnyville and District Oil and Gas Show committee made the ‘very difficult’ decision to postpone the Oil and Gas Show.
“We reviewed all the pros and cons and we really thought that while we’re very positive about the direction that the economic recovery is going, there’s still a lot of certainty surrounding gatherings and requirements around larger events,” noted Serina Parsons, executive director of the Bonnyville chamber.
She added, “We thought allowing the extra time and recovery would be more beneficial to postpone to 2022 and have the Oil and Gas Show at that time.”
The event was scheduled to take place in June 2021, however, it has since been moved to June 2022, with the hopes of a less restrictive environment being in place.
Parsons noted postponing the event was the right decision.
“This event brings in a lot of contractors and service providers and it creates a lot of networking for different organizations and producers,” she explained. “A lot of work does come out of this and not to mention the people that it brings to the area and the entire economic impact of people staying in the hotels, eating (at restaurants), and that kind of thing.”
The Bonnyville Oil and Gas show was established in 2010 and has been held every second year since. The event takes over the Bonnyville and District Centennial Centre and sees businesses from all over come together. It brings together leaders and service providers in the oil and gas industry to support one another.
Parsons hopes the event in 2022 will be “bigger, better, and more successful than if we were to have it in 2021.”
“We’re always planning and have the Oil and Gas Show in the back of our minds,” she continued. “It’s one of our biggest events, we’re always excited to host it, we’re definitely always supporting our oil and gas industry, and trying to ensure that we’re doing what we can to help alleviate some of the economic impacts that have come with the downturn. We’re continuing to have ideas on a regular basis and we haven’t stopped planning and we haven’t stopped continuing with what’s to come and how we can improve it.”
The rules and regulations that could be in place in 2022 for large gatherings and events will also be on the planning committee's minds and how they will follow them to ensure the safety of everyone who attends the Oil and Gas Show.
A major factor of the event is to show support for the oil and gas sector.
“I think when it comes to the oil and gas industry, there’s job creation there. When the oil industry is booming, our community is booming,” noted Parsons. “We do need to find other means of other industries so we’re not so heavily dependent and reliant on the oil and gas industry, but the oil and gas industry has been a lot to our community and region. We want it to continue to grow and prosper and there will be job creation.”
