Party on! Calgary event staff see the return of corporate Christmas parties – Calgary

The holiday season is approaching and the demand for corporate personal parties in Calgary is on the rise.

From vendors to banquet halls, businesses that depend on a busy Christmas season are booked solid.

Allison Estay runs Out Of Our Heads Productions, a Calgary-based company that hosts game shows, trivia and team-building exercises across Canada.

In the past two years, she had to turn to online events, but due to the nature of her business, it wasn’t the same as having in-person parties.

“Last year I thought my business was done,” Estay said. “I thought that was it. I started looking for a new career and everything.”

But in 2022, her calendar is now full with as many as three events a day until mid-December.

“This is a record year,” Estay said. “It’s crazy. Everyone just wants to bond and get together and have fun.”

Banquet halls are also seeing a dramatic increase in the number of reservations.

Gabriela Fierro is the general manager of the Empire Banquet Hall in northeast Calgary.

She says the businesses once again have the budgets and the desire to host full-fledged events.

“It was so nice for us to get going again,” Fierro said. “It’s nice to see people happy again. They dance and have fun. It’s back to normal.”

No worries about COVID

Both Estay and Fierro say very few customers have asked about COVID or health policies during booking.

“I haven’t had a single person ask me about COVID protocols,” Estay explained. “The signage is still up and people are still disinfecting. I find that the service staff are all wearing masks, but the guests themselves are not.”

With no government policy in place, Fierro says it’s up to individuals to choose what level of protection they’re comfortable with.

“We’ve seen some people choose to wear masks, but most people don’t want to,” Fierro said. “They don’t talk about (COVID). I feel they just want to forget about it.”

Health services expert Lorian Hardcastle said the attitude leads her to expect an increase in cases of COVID and other illnesses with the more personal events held over the holidays.

“I think it’s unlikely that the government will reintroduce any COVID-related measures,” Hardcastle said. “So I think individuals will have to listen to messages from doctors and reputable scientists about what kind of precautions they should take.”

Hardcastle adds she expects to see some private companies bring back rules for employees concerned about absenteeism.

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