Cost of Culture
By Walter Kish
Last week, my wife and I took in a concert of the Toronto Symphony
Orchestra at Roy Thomson Hall. As much as we love going to such events, they are
becoming an increasingly rare event on our “going out” calendar, inasmuch as
the cost has made such entertainment an extravagant luxury. Ticket prices for live concerts and theatre
are now typically pushing the $100 a head barrier, and often more.
The cost of culture and
entertainment has reached stratospheric levels, and it is not just in the
realms of music and the theatrical arts.
A hockey or basketball game is just as likely to require a similar
substantial investment for a decent seat that doesn’t require binoculars.
Ukrainian community events
have not been immune to such rampant inflation, either. When was the last time you saw tickets for a
“Malanka” going for less than $100 a head, or any kind of charity event or
banquet admission that wasn’t in the three digit range.
Some would say that this simply reflects normal
inflation, but I find that hard to swallow.
No doubt, if my memory serves me right, average salaries have probably
doubled in the past two decades or so.
But in that same time, prices for most sports and entertainment events
have tripled and quadrupled, pushing them out of the reach of all but the rich
and the upper middle class, except as a special and rarely indulged treat.
I am particularly conscious
of this ongoing assault on my budget, since I was spoiled in this regard during
the three years that I recently lived in
One of my favourite evenings
out in Kyiv was taking in the latest live drama or comedy being staged at the
Ivan Franko Theatre for the equivalent of $10 or less. Similarly, a prime seat at Kyiv’s world
famous National Opera Theatre could be had for $10 to $15. A ticket to a live theatre performance at
Lviv’s Solomiya Krushelnytska Theatre usually went for $5 to $6. Virtually any performance at any of
No doubt about – I was
spoiled and took every advantage of the situation. Nonetheless, it is important to note that
this was a relative advantage insofar as I was being paid high “foreign” wages
while local prices were at third world low levels. To a native Ukrainian making the then average
wage of some $300 a month, a $10 or $15 admission ticket wasn’t exactly a
bargain. In proportional terms, it would
be the equivalent to us paying in the $100 to $300 range if we were to adjust
appropriately for the salary level differential.
So are there no decent options for having a fun
evening out without dropping a thick wad of twenties? As a matter of fact, there is. The UNF Toronto Branch is holding a series of
monthly “Old Time Zabavas” at the
My wife and I, as well as our budget, will
definitely be giving them a try. See you
there.