Not related to art … but somehow completely related.
I understand why Vancouverites hesitate. Why we wait. Why we make soft commitments. Why we sometimes cancel at the last minute.
Because here, disposable income isn’t really “disposable”. It’s a question mark at best and crippling anxiety at worst.
That $275 concert ticket you bought today in a hopeful moment? By December, it might feel different. Maybe your rent goes up. Maybe groceries cost more again. Maybe work slows down … or it doesn’t … and you’re offered a shift that you can’t afford to turn down. Maybe your car breaks down. Maybe you’re just trying to stay one step ahead of an economy that feels fragile.
It’s not flakiness. It’s survival math.
People want to come. They want to support you. They want to say yes to art, to music, to community, to connection. But not at the cost of unexpected financial stress. Not at the risk of tipping their own stability.
In this city, financial confidence is often one or two paycheques away.
So if someone waits until the last minute, or hesitates, or quietly backs out, it doesn’t mean they don’t care. It means they care deeply… and they’re doing the best they can with what they have.
And that’s something worth understanding.