The High River Firefighters Gala that has been going since 2006 has been scrapped for the first time this year.

Pat Zebedee Committee Member and Event Organizer says there were a lot of things against them this year.

"We're struggling with the economic times that are happening right now," Zebedee says. "We were concerned about the turn-out plus we've been having trouble getting enough interest."

She says aside from the economic situation for many people there was a miscommunication in reserving the venue and it ended up being overbooked.

Zebedee says they didn't want to pressure anyone into supporting yet another fundraising event and adds it's not all bad news.

"The last couple of galas we have raised money to go towards the Foothills Regional Training Centre that is getting closure. We have about twenty-thousand dollars to hand over for the guys to use."

She says she knows things are difficult for people during this challenging economic time and adds while people understand it's still disappointing to some.

"Some of them are kind of sad that it's not going to happen this year but they also realize why we're not. Everyone is struggling and we didn't want people to feel that it was one more thing that they had to support."

She says they didn't want the event to add any undue pressure for people to support one more fundraiser and adds they are planning ahead for the next time the event rolls around in 2018.