Editor:
I appreciated Sandor Gyarmati’s article outlining the costs of Tour de Delta (Optimist, Jan. 20).
I was shocked to read that almost a quarter million dollars are earmarked from our Delta City budget for the Tour in 2022. Contrast that with the Ladner Bandfest, of which I am a proud founding member, which asks the city for only a grant to cover the show stage, plus gracious assistance with Memorial Park tidy-up, and the loan of two rooms, tables, and chairs.
Like the bike races, Bandfest is free and open to the public, and draws a similar sized audience into Memorial Park throughout the weekend (mark your calendars for Bandfest June 4 to 5, 2022). It therefore draws revenue into Ladner similar to the Tour de Delta, clearly evident when the 18 participating bands, totalling 600 musicians, frequent the cafes, pubs and shops over the weekend.
Significantly, the Ladner Bandfest is known and loved provincially and internationally, as is the Tour de Delta, so there are many comparisons in their own fields of endeavour.
Don't get me wrong – my wife and I love the Tour de Delta Criterion Races. We always bring friends and book a front row seat at a café, but when considering “bang for our buck,” there might be better ways to spend the Delta taxpayers' money than $236k for one event.
Curt Jantzen
