A popular annual summer festival in Calgary has suspended ticket sales for six weeks to focus on fundraising due to fewer visitors and rising costs.

GlobalFest, a five-day event held in Elliston Park and known for its International Fireworks Festival, paused ticket sales after cancelling its opening night last week , as it grappled with losses from 11,000 fewer attendees this year.

“Certainly it was not an easy decision to make,” Ken Goosen, chief operating officer for the festival, said.

“Things were moving along exactly as planned,” Goosen said, referring to its ticket sales in August. Then, his organization, which also hosts performances by dozens of cultural associations across the city, noticed the dip, which he said amounted to $250,000.

GlobalFest then sent a survey to its cli

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