"Sounds of summer": This article is by Chris White in Costco Connection Jul. 2025.
How to maximize your festival and event spending this season
Canada is home to many great summer festivals. These are just a few of the events taking place this summer:
New Maritime Music Festival 2025 (New Brunswick),
Kelowna Ribfest (British Columbia),
Montreal International Jazz Festival (Quebec),
Sunfest Country Music Festival (British Columbia),
Bayfest (Ontario) and
the Calgary Stampede (Alberta).
Attending these and other events in the summer is a great way to enjoy the outdoors. Whether it’s your local ribfest, a music festival, a beer fest or a carnival, budgeting properly and using smart tips can make this summer more enjoyable.
Bring cash to avoid overspending.
Using a credit or debit card at a festival is convenient,
but it can also lead to impulsive purchases that quickly add up throughout the event.
By bringing a set amount of cash, you can not only
set an amount you are comfortable spending
but also force yourself to be conscious of the amount you are spending.
Take advantage of early bird deals and discounts.
Summer events and festivals often provide a discount for locking in and purchasing tickets
early.
This is why it can be crucial to assess which ones you are most interested in and buy
tickets promptly to take advantage of deals.
Festival and event social media pages can also be beneficial for providing promotions and
giveaways.
Be smart about buying merchandise and extras.
Festival merchandise and souvenirs make for great mementos from a summer event but
buying them on-site also comes with a hefty markup.
To save money,
consider purchasing these items online,
or on the last day of the event when more discounts may be available.
Attending summer festivals and events will no doubt come with a price tag, but by using
these smart tactics you can help reduce the overall amount spent on
merchandise,
tickets,
meals and drinks.
By planning ahead
and making thoughtful choices,
you can enjoy an unforgettable summer without overspending.
Happy festival season!
As you prepare to attend summer festivals, consider packing essential items that can
later save you money.
Bringing your own essentials like
a reusable water bottle,
sunscreen
and snacks (if allowed)
can help reduce costs at the event.
Booking a hotel with friends can help bring down accommodation costs,
or if you are really feeling the festival spirit,
camping is always a great summer alternative to a hotel.
–CW
Please do your own due diligence when making any financial decisions. This column
is for general informational purposes only and may not apply to all provinces.
It is meant to get the reader thinking about their finances; it is not meant to be used
in lieu of advice from a professional.
Chris White
is a chartered financial analyst charter holder and is head of research for 5i Research.
Through an exclusive arrangement, Canadian Money-Saver’s experts
work with the Costco Connection to share advice about relevant
financial topics.
Email topic suggestions to moneyinfo@
canadianmoneysaver.ca
My opinion: I strongly agree with bringing cash.
Travel tip: When you go to another country, you should bring cash because it's cheaper to spend cash.
When you use your credit card, the exchange rates are charged on your card and then you spend more.
My little brother P: If you buy things on the last day, there may not be the products you want because they're sold out.
I remember my big sister S went to the NSYNC concert in 1999. She bought a large t- shirt because the small and medium ones were sold out.
Jul. 12, 2025 "Are midway games rigged? They certainly aren't easy, say players": Today I found this article by Philip Drost on CBC:
Emerson Cook believed she had a chance at winning the big prize at the Calgary Stampede.
At the age of 8, she felt confident she could hang from a chin-up bar for two minutes. Her parents had a bar just like it at home, and she had spent the last year practicing, so how hard could it be? Plus, she could win a big stuffed animal.
But when she grabbed onto the metal bar, all set for her two minutes of glory, she came to the startling realization that the rules had changed.
The bars spun. And after 15 seconds, she fell.
"I was like, 'It spun, I didn't know it spun,'" said Emerson, who is now 12. "I was, like, crying. I was really upset. Cause it was like, everybody was watching, everybody is staring at you."
Cook was the victim of a midway game that was more challenging than it appeared. And with the Calgary Stampede underway, and many more fairs set for the next few months across Canada, she likely won't be the last.
And while many people say these games are rigged, or at least, not as fair as they might seem, operators argue all games are winnable, and there are some tricks to put your best foot forward.
Difficult or fraudulent?
There are three types of carnival games. There are
games of chance,
games of skill,
and games that mix the two.
For example, Cook's Hang Time challenge is a game of skill — and a deceptively hard one at that.
The pick-a-duck race game
or the claw game
are games of chance.
The ring toss game, where you have to get a ring on top of a bottle,
is a bit of both.
And Matt Magnone has played a lot of them.
He runs a YouTube channel called Arcade Matt out of Ambridge, Pa., where he makes videos playing everything from arcade games to midway competitions.
But he says there's no question that operators tilt the odds in their favour.
For example, he says, in a game that involves shooting a basketball through a hoop, you might need more skills than an NBA star.
Oftentimes, he says, the actual hoop is smaller than regulation,
and the basketballs are given extra air so they bounce everywhere.
A park near his home actually does have a sign letting people know it isn't a regulation basketball hoop.
"It's more of like an oval than a circle.
So it's just designed to where the average person isn't gonna be able to figure it out the first time or even maybe the 10th time," said Magnone.
Then there's the game where you have to knock over a stack of bottles.
There, he says, the bottom bottle will often be weighted to make sure they don't easily fall over.
"So in theory, you can win every time.
Now the games are designed to where, you know, I guess it's more of kind of like a casino, right?" said Magnone.
"The games are set up to a certain difficulty to where the average person isn't gonna be able to win it every time."
That's how Cook felt about the hanging bar challenge.
There were no signs telling her that it moved,
and it wasn't clear from watching the challengers ahead of her.
"It said just, 'Bar, hold on for two minutes.' It didn't say, like, if it was spinning or not. Like, you couldn't tell," said Cook.
Lots of stuffies
These games are money makers for midway companies.
Six Flags, which owns 42 amusement parks, such as Canada's Wonderland in Ontario and La Ronde in Quebec, brought in around $900 million in revenue last year from food, merchandise, and games.
And while there is no doubt these games are designed with the intention to make money, Greg "Scooter" Korek says they are certainly winnable.
Korek is the vice president of client services for North American Midway Entertainment, which puts on the Calgary Stampede along with many other fairs and festivals across North America.
He says nearly 1.4 million people visited the Calgary Stampede last year, and Korek says games are an important part of that operation.
"Are our games winnable? You bet," said Korek.
"Our games do make money for us, but we're giving away a lot of prizes as we go along."
He says that at the Calgary Stampede, they expect to give away 35 tractor-trailer loads of stuffed animals.
"We could fill out this Saddledome with stuffed animals for 16 games," said Korek.
And he says that while some games are harder to win,
there is a reward for that:
bigger prizes.
Tips and tricks
Magnone says there are ways you can tip the odds back in your favour.
In the game where you have to knock over the bottom bottles,
for instance, always go for the bottom row, he says.
You can watch how-to videos for specific popular games to learn how they work before you play them,
and you can also stand by a game at a fair to see how those who win are successful.
Practicing, however, means that —unless you build the game at home — you have to spend money at the midway.
But even with those strategies, don't expect to dominate.
"They are set up so difficult to where, yeah, you might get one person that might see a tip and trick, but still, it's gonna take a lot of practise to get it dialled in and get the technique," said Magnone.
Even if you do get really good, you likely won't win unlimited giant stuffies.
Magnone says many places will put a limit on how many times you can win before you get cut off.
But Emerson Cook hasn't reached that point yet. After her disappointing first attempt, she started training correctly. She made it so her bar at home moved like the one at the fair, and she practiced and practiced.
"I still haven't won it yet," said Cook, reflecting on her 2024 attempt. "It's pretty tricky to do. Like, it's not that simple."
Cook went back to the Stampede this year for another attempt, but were unable to find the game. But Cook hopes to go back next year and continue her quest to be Hang Time champion and walk away with one of those giant stuffies.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/costofliving/midway-games-difficult-1.7579865
Jul. 25, 2025 My opinion: I went to K- Days yesterday and there is a bar where you can hang on for 2 min. The prize is $100 cash.
I talked to the woman there and told her about the CBC article, and she said this bar doesn't move. She said there are about 20 winners since she worked here.
The other 2 blog posts:
"Canada’s Odd Burger pauses U.S. expansion plans amid tariff concerns"/ "Tim Hortons partners with actor Ryan Reynolds on breakfast boxes"
"This bubble tea chain is the 'largest brand nobody's ever heard of,' with more stores than McDonald's"/ "Matcha is having a moment — and it's putting pressure on Japan's tea industry"
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Tues. Jul. 22, 2023 Leo poll:
Joan M, Cambridge, Ontario, would like to know:
Do you ever wish you could be a kid again?
Yes 57.52% (2537)
No 42.48% (1874)
My opinion: No, because if I wanted to do kid things:
I can watch those old kid TV shows.
I can read those old kid books.
Wed. Jul. 23, 2025:
Krista S, Calgary, Alberta, would like to know:
Do you keep up with purchasing trends and buy items just because they’re popular or others have them?
No, I prefer to buy based on my own needs or preferences 58.36% (2451)
I don’t really pay attention to trends 21.60% (907)
Sometimes, if I think it's worth it 17.93% (753)
Yes, I buy things because they’re popular 2.12% (89)
My opinion: No, I prefer to buy based on my own needs or preferences.
I find that our culture has a lot of people talking about what they bought and what they're going to buy next.
However, with all the inflation and tariffs, people seem to be more careful and mindful of their money.
Jul. 25, 2025 Cathy B, Nelson , British Colombia, would like to know:
How do you usually buy your books?
New books (online or in-store) 36.05% (1487)
I borrow them (library, friends, or family) 26.50% (1093)
I don’t buy books 24.82% (1024)
Used books 12.63% (521)
