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CALGARY — The era of the big-ticket corporate holiday bash appears to be on life support in Calgary.

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“We produce events across North America and everywhere else we’re fine, but in Calgary we’re down 80 per cent,” said David Howard, president of The Event Group, a party planning company in the city.

In the past, Howard said, he’s organized extravagant events in the city that cost upwards of a million dollars. But energy companies have since returned to reality and are spending far less — both because of budget constraints and public perceptions.

This year, they’re cutting back even further — or cancelling parties altogether — as layoffs and low oil prices continue to hammer the industry.

“We’ve chatted with a lot of our clients and advised them on holding back this year,” Howard said. “You have a lot of oil-and-gas companies that went through a ton of layoffs, their stock prices dropped, so it really isn’t the best time right now to be doing an event.”