Festival Theatre drives village economy

By Steph Crosier

STIRLING (21/11/12) Tammy Latchford, owner of Bella Ever After, opened her shop just under a year ago. She says the local theatre brings business into her store. Photo by Steph Crosier

The top of the half-glass door brushes past a large dangle of six bells letting everyone in the boutique know someone else has joined the conversation. Once you’re through the door, you’re no longer a stranger in this boutique.

It’s “how are you, what were you looking for?” and “I love your shirt! I saw you wearing it outside, it’s so different.”

Sitting in a large armchair next to an electric- fire, Tammy Latchford, owner of Belle Ever After, is a bundle of energy. When she decided to open she own all local-product women’s store just under a year ago, she found that Stirling was perfect.

After doing research about the community, and looking into the popularity of the theatre, the Tweed native knew that this was a perfect location for her shop.

Bella Ever After is just one of a number shops, boutiques, and cafes that have popped up to cater the Stirling Festival Theatre.

Before the theatre, Stirling was a farming community, said Elisha Maguire, economic development officer for Stirling-Rawdon Township, over a latte at West Wings, another town boutique with books, lattes, clothing, and knick-knacks.

In 1993 when the township was deciding to tear down building did a group of residents got together, called themselves the Stirling performing arts committee, and saved the theatre. Today the theatre has show every month. During the summer, shows come to town for up to three weeks, but in November the panto comes to town for five straight through to New Years Eve.

A panto is a winter musical comedy style that is often based on a children’s story. In Stirling the troupe performs both a children’s version, and a more popular naughty adult version. This year the show is Alice in Wonderland.

Latchford opened her store Dec.13, 2011 right in the middle of the theatre’s panto season. At first it wasn’t that bad but suddenly her number of patrons skyrocketed.

“On a Saturday afternoon I had 30-40 people in the store consistently throughout the day,” said Latchford. “It was one of my best days since I’ve opened.”

This economic boost during the Christmas season is felt all over the small Stirling village said Maguire.

“November and December are a huge time,” said Maguire. “We completed a business survey in 2011, and we had businesses identify what patterns in days and months what were the busiest, and across the board it’s November and December that were the best months for retail.”

Maguire said the numbers could lead back to the holiday season but the panto supports that by bringing customers to the village.

David Vanderlip, managing director of the Stirling Festival Theatre for three months, said last year the shows drew 45,000 people to the village.

“They say that for every dollar spent here its $3.50-$9.00 into the community,” said Vanderlip.

Using the Ontario Ministry of Tourism & Culture’s TREIM model, Maguire said the economic impact of just 40,000 patrons visiting the theatre in all of Hasting’s County for 2012 has the potential to be over $5,500,000, and a gross domestic product of over $2,350,000.

Vanderlip said that other than the township owning the theatre’s building they aren’t very involved with the community, but he is happy that the shops in the village have tailored themselves to complement the theatre’s patrons.

Scheona West, owner and operator of West Wings, said during the panto season they stay open later.

“This is the most important time of year in terms of traffic,” said West. “We just sell a lot of drinks, but we find that people tend to return another day for merchandise.”

Jim Ringas has owned and operated Jim’s Pizzeria for 30 years. He was there for the first year the theatre opened and has watched as the crowds have gotten larger.

“When I first came, 90 per cent of the store fronts were empty,” said Ringas. “Every year it gets bigger and every year it gets better. It’s put Stirling on the map.”

Ringa’s said that while the panto is in town his business increases 15 per cent, and the busy theatre days makes up to 20 per cent of his yearly net income.

West and Latchford agree they receive the most customers in their stores when the theatre does bus trips.

“The bus usually drops them off an hour or two early to visit the village,” said West. “So it really gives them time to come into the shops and look around.”

Latchford said she hopes that the theatre will organize more for the shorter shows. She recalls last summer when a talented singer came to the theatre but they had to cancel shows due to lack of ticket sales.

“It was just heartbreaking because he was such a talented guy,” said Latchford. “I don’t know if there needs to be better marketing or what, but with bus trips at least we can guarantee the seats will be filled.”

Latchford said she will always support the theatre and the town as much as possible. Whether it’s filling half her window with posters, or voting for Hockeyville, she wants to see her community blossom.

“My dream for Stirling, on a small scale, would be the next Bloomfield. On a large scale I think it could be the nest Niagara-On-The-Lake.”