A staple Calgary summer festival is temporarily closing the ticket-sale tent flap as it struggles to survive, becoming yet one more party planner walking a fraying financial tightrope in the era of shrinking affordability.

GlobalFest has been celebrating multiculturalism through fireworks, pavilions, food kiosks and shows for almost a quarter-century.

Last year, it was 11,000 tickets short compared with a year earlier, about a quarter-million-dollar gut punch to the organization's bottom line, said Ken Goosen, CEO of GlobalFest.

This week, Goosen announced GlobalFest organizers are putting a six-week pause on ticket sales as they try to shore up their financial situation.

Affordability, weather, politics all factor in ticket decline

In an interview, Goosen said the cost of living weig

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