Surrey wedding DJ says banquet hall closure too ‘strict,’ not necessary

Banquet halls are pushing back on the order to shut down during the pandemic. As Travis Prasad reports, the industry wants to work with the province to find innovative ways of staying open for business.

SURREY (NEWS 1130) — A DJ from Surrey says the province’s order to shutter banquet halls is the latest challenge facing people in his line of work, and he thinks there is a way to safely operate these facilities amid COVID-19.

Harp Sohal who owns Aftershock Roadshow says his business focuses on weddings, and the 50-person limit on gatherings was already costing him.

“When we book our clients we book them a DJ but we also book them a production package which includes TVs, effects et cetera et cetera,” he explains.

“Now it’s gotten to the point where people don’t want to book the production side, they just want a DJ and keep it simple so that’s where we’re kind of losing out.”

Still, banquet halls have been booking DJs for smaller weddings, and Sohal doesn’t think their closure is necessary.

“I understand nightclubs, you can’t control that because there’s a lot of young people in there and they’re all getting drunk and not following instructions,” he says.

“But when it comes to banquet halls I mean it’s a completely different environment compared to a nightclub, where it’s it’s older generation mixed with young, and you don’t even have to serve liquor at all. There’s so many ways we could make this work.”

Sohal and the people he works with can work with clients to relocate bookings whereas in-house DJs who are tied to a particular venue don’t have this option.

But outdoor venues, hotels, and golf courses aren’t a substitute for banquet halls when it comes to the wedding industry.

“The weather isn’t going to be holding up for the next couple of months so there have to be venues, there has to be something for clients to make use of to get married and even have a small gathering. That’s what banquet halls kind of accommodate,” he says.

“I feel like it can work but restrictions obviously need to be put in place. I’m just hoping everybody in the wedding industry can come together and figure this out, and the government also.”

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