IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE

By Mark Demko

While many know the Bethlehem, PA-based ArtsQuest for is largest and longest running event, Musikfest, the opening of the SteelStacks entertainment campus on our city’s former steel mill site nine years ago transformed us into a year-round presenting arts organization that operates three buildings, three music venues and offers a dozen festivals annually. Today, our nonprofit presents more than 4,000 concerts, classes, educational programs and events in our region, with about 50 percent of this programming available for free to our community.

On March 16, that number incredulously dropped to ‘zero’ as a result of COVID19’s spread and Gov. Tom Wolf’s ensuing order that all nonessential businesses in the Commonwealth close. In the blink of an eye, we went from planning a full summer schedule of 25 events and 750 concerts, to wondering what the next month might bring and whether what, if any, events might even take place before 2021 arrives.

As an organization, our highly adaptive programming team shifted from presenting in-person events to developing a variety of virtual and online content in less than a week for a new platform called ArtsQuest@Home.

Launched March 20, ArtsQuest@ Home includes curated and original programming designed to keep our community and our patrons connected via music and the arts, even at a time when everyone can’t get together in person. After starting with sharing content from others such as performances that national artists were streaming from their living rooms, our staff switched to developing our own content. In one example, we launched a performance series featuring popular local artists who have played at Musikfest and SteelStacks. To differentiate our programming from all the other great options out there, we opted to offer the “SteelStacks Lunch Break” shows at noon, staying away from the more crowded 4-9 p.m. timeframe other acts were filling.

Since then, we’ve added a full slate of original content including comedy and improv shows via Zoom, live Toddler Storytimes via Facebook live and even a 48-hour ‘At Home Quarantine Film Challenge’, which invited the community to make their own short films and share with everyone while we shelter at home. While this virtual programming has drawn a strong following, the next step will be developing revenue streams associated with this new platform to help support organizational sustainability.

ArtsQuest’s first major celebration of summer was to be our Memorial Day Weekend, featuring live music, patriotic programming and a Memorial Day remembrance event honoring men and women of the Armed Forces. We are now working on a virtual version of that, with livestreams, a Memorial Day documentary shown in partnership with our local Public Television Station WLVT and a modified 10th anniversary presentation of “Our Hometown Heroes” display.

Launched a decade ago, “Our Hometown Heroes” is a series of banners displayed on SteelStacks campus that features images of servicemen and women from the region. This year, we are installing the banners, but encouraging people to cruise by to see them or walk by following safe social distancing guidelines. We will also for the first time feature the images online for people to view.

An unanticipated impact of the COVID19 fallout occurred when our ticketing partner changed how and when it paid its partners. Instead of receiving payouts on a rolling basis as we did previously, funds would only be released after an event had taken place. As a nonprofit that postponed more than 100 events in just six weeks, with many not taking place until this fall or even 2021, this was a big curveball thrown our way.

In response to the decline in revenue streams, our development, marketing and sponsorship teams have shifted focused to identifying new opportunities while being mindful that the focus right now is and should be on supporting those on the front lines. We’ve stepped up efforts to encourage patrons to purchase gift cards they can use for food and beverages, concert tickets and merchandise later in the year; encouraging our members to renew their supporting memberships; and we’re letting the community know our programming is as important now as it was two months ago, while reminding them that they can play a key role by making donations and contributions. Whether you’re a large organization or a small nonprofit, offer multiple events or just one festival, these are unprecedented times and we are all adapting different tactics and strategies to survive.

City and Government Relationships

ArtsQuest is fortunate to have strong relationships with our city and county governments and that’s important now more than ever, especially as everyone works through these challenging times.

If you present a festival or event, it’s vital you connect regularly with your city, county, state or provincial contacts, as well as your health department officials. This is important not only for your business, but also to stay on top of the constantly changing rules, orders and guidelines pertaining to COVID-19, public gatherings and health and safety best practices.

While the governor’s offices are responsible for rolling out the reopening plans in most states, the guidelines put in place by your cities may ultimately determine what you can and can’t do when it comes to events, hosting food vendors and gathering in person. Connect frequently with your contacts and remind them of the positive impact you and your events have on tourism, the economy and quality of life in your region. Music, arts and culture have an amazing power to heal communities and, at some point cities large and small will want this aspect of their cultures to return as long as everyone can feel safe and secure.

Managing Vendor Relationships

With programs and events being postponed weekly, ArtsQuest remains in constant contact with the hundreds of food and retail vendors, independent artisans, performers, musicians and others that we work with during the summer. As small business owners who rely on festivals and events to support their livelihood, these independent artists and businesses have been among the hardest hit in the industry. The good news is that many of them have already stated they are ready and eager to rejoin us when the time is right, and things are safe for all.

Sponsorships

Knowing times are challenging for all, the ArtsQuest sponsorship team has shifted its strategy and outreach efforts, with a focus on continuing to build relationships with our partners. As you’re having conversations, ask your partners how they’ve been impacted personally, as well as how their businesses have been impacted and what you can do to help. Remember, we are all in this together and they are likely feeling the effects as well. Right now, the equity you’ve built with your corporate partners over the years is one of your biggest assets. While new sponsorships may not be coming any time soon, the relationships you’ve built over time can be some of your biggest allies.

One area ArtsQuest and other organizations in the industry may find traction in comes from working with local sponsors who are more invested in you and your community. If you offer educational initiatives for students, have developed a strong virtual presence or are helping relief efforts in your area, talk to your partners and see if they want to join you. In many instances, you may be able to move some or all elements of the partnership to support these impactful programs.

At ArtsQuest, we’ve had good support from some of our longtime partners like BSI Corporate Benefits and local law firm King, Spry, Herman, Freund & Faul, both of whom have stepped up to continue their partnerships even during this time of crisis due to the virtual elements we’ve rolled out for our community. Some of our bigger partners - companies like Air Products, Service Electric Cable TV & Communications, Wind Creek Bethlehem & D.G. Yuengling & Son - also continue to support us because of longstanding relationships and the impact arts and cultural programming have on the region over the long haul.

Development and Relief Funding

As many traditional grant and funding sources dry up or have been exhausted due to the COVID-19 crisis, it’s important to be as nimble and flexible as possible. Look for new opportunities that have recently become available, either in your industry or at the federal and state levels. Case in point, ArtsQuest operates a two-screen independent cinema and was able to obtain a small grant via Art-House Convergence’s Art-House America Campaign, designed to provide financial relief to struggling independent cinemas across the country. The campaign was started with an initial donation of $50,000 from the Criterion Collection and Janus Films, and as of late April had raised more than $550,000 for independent cinemas nationwide.

As with many in the nonprofit events industry, ArtsQuest applied for relief funds made available via the federal CARES Act. Strong relationships are important for any nonprofit or major event, and those relationships are never so crucial as they are during a crisis.

We are fortunate to have a long-standing and close relationship with PNC Bank, which knew our business model inside and out. That was paramount to being able to pull together the necessary documentation in a short timeframe, especially when funding was determined on a “first-come, first-served” basis and we were competing with major corporations with revenues in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Paycheck Protection Program funds we received will not sustain us indefinitely by any means, but they do provide us with critical breathing room we need to step back and take some time to think through this crisis more strategically. With entertainment and large gatherings being the last to reopen after all of this, federal and state dollars need to be dedicated in some future stimulus package to support this industry given the economic impact we have in every community.

The Look Ahead

As of this writing, no decisions have yet been made on Musikfest, set for July 31-Aug. 9. That being said, we know this will be a Musikfest unlike any other in the event’s 36-year history. Our staff is looking at and game planning for every possible scenario, from holding a much smaller and/or shorter version of the festival, to offering a virtual festival and fundraiser, with the ultimate goal of coming out the other side being able to offer 36 more ‘Musikfests’ down the road.

Although we in the events industry optimistically hope larger events will resume at some point this year, the reality is that those decisions are out of our hands and will almost assuredly be decided by our cities’ and states’ recovery and reopening plans as we all try to recover from this epidemic.

What ArtsQuest does have control over, as do all of you, is how we adapt and respond to this crisis and continue to present experiences and opportunities for our cities, our communities and our patrons. We have all been leaders in bringing people together for shared music, arts and cultural experiences for a long time.

As things start returning to normal, or at least the ‘new normal,’ humanity will be turning once again to these types of interaction - maybe slowly at first, but they will return.

It will be our jobs to figure out how to engage, entertain and support our communities, while at the same time figuring out new models for sustainability and stability going forward. We have adapted to changes big and small before, and many of us will figure out how to navigate this unpresented crisis as well.

About the Author:

Mark Demko has worked in communications and public relations for more than 20 years. He is the Sr. Director of Communications for ArtsQuest, the nonprofit that presents Musikfest, the nation’s largest free admission music festival; the Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem holiday market, and the programming at the SteelStacks arts and entertainment district in Bethlehem, PA.

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