IFEA Foundation Board

BY KEVIN GROTHE, CFEE

WE MISSED YOU!

Live, in-person festivals and events…we sure have missed you! We have missed bands jamming on stages and patrons swaying to their favorite songs. We have missed the competition of bragging rights determining who makes the best ribs, chili, hot wings, gumbo, bread, and pies. We have missed fireworks being shot off into the night sky. We have missed the floats parading down streets. We have missed celebrations of Irish, German, Hispanic, and African culture. We have missed arts created by talented individuals. We have missed the public observance of the 4th of July, Christmas, New Years, and other national holidays.

And for those of us in the festival and event industry, we have missed working along side our dedicated volunteers. We have missed the smell of our food vendors preparing delicious eats. We have missed our many vendors who provide security, fencing, staging, electricity, and of course port-o-lets. We have missed our corporate partners who provide financial support and engaging activities.

Simply put, we have missed doing what we love, producing festivals and events for others to enjoy.

Guess what? Our patrons have missed us too!

That is why the IFEA Foundation has created the IFEA Fan Favorite Competition. A fun competition among Festivals / Events for their fans to vote on what Festival / Event they have missed the most during this unprecedented pandemic.

Entering can be completed in 3 easy steps:

1. Enter your Festival / Event Contact Information BEFORE August 30, 2021

2. Provide a description and photo to promote your Festival / Event

3. Pay the IFEA Member Rate of $25 entry fee per Festival / Event! (Non-members can register their event for $225 and receive a one-year IFEA membership at the same time!)

How do you become the IFEA Fan Favorite?

The top Festival / Event will be selected by public voting; thus the fans of Festivals / Events will select the winner! It only costs a mere $1 per vote, with no limit on how many votes a fan may purchase! All funds received from voting will be donations to the IFEA Foundation.

Voting will take place in 3 easy steps too, by way of 3 rounds of voting, by the fans. Each voting round will be for one week.

1. Round 1 (the Preliminaries) will be from Sept 13 – Sept 20. The top 50% vote getters from this round will advance to Round 2, the Semi-Finals.

2. Round 2 (the Semi-Finals) will be from Sept 20 – Sept 27. The top 50% vote getters from this round will advance to Round 3, the Finals.

3. Round 3 (the Finals) will be from Sept 27 – Oct 4. This is the round you want to call in every favor and get your fans to vote for you many times over, as this round will crown the IFEA Fan Favorite!

Pro-Tip: To increase your chances of winning, IFEA will provide a direct link for you to share with your fans, for them to go to, to vote for you! Your sole job after entering the competition, is to rally your fans and share your voting link/images, etc. via Email, Facebook, and Twitter encouraging your fans to vote for you! As you advance in each round, the process repeats!

As you ponder over taking the plunge to enter this NEW IFEA Award competition, let me share a few reasons why your festival or event should participate in the IFEA Fan Favorite Competition:

1. For starters, this is a NEW IFEA Award competition! This is your chance to take part in something that nobody else has done before and be awarded the 1st IFEA Fan Favorite title!

2. The IFEA Fan Favorite Competition is a great way to keep your festival or event top of mind with your Fans, whether it has been able to happen or not. Admit, we are always looking for ways to keep our festivals and events in front of our constituents even when it is not “event” season. This is a great opportunity to do just that!

3. The IFEA Fan Favorite Competition takes such little time register, is easy to promote and extremely affordable at $25 per Festival/ Event for IFEA Members. Allocate five minutes and you will have your festival or event registered. Once you receive your voting link, (closer to the start of voting Round 1) you just need to rally your fans, share the voting link and let your fans take over!

4. Let us not forget the IFEA Fan Favorite Competition is a fundraiser for the IFEA Foundation. All funds raised will benefit the IFEA Foundation in our effort to help the IFEA support the Festivals & Events Industry by sharing important resources, presenting valuable education, providing critical information updates, and so much more!

5. The IFEA Fan Favorite Competition is a great way for festivals and events to share their involvement with, and their support, of the International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA). The IFEA has been a constant support to the Festivals & Events Industry, through the pandemic and beyond. Participating in the IFEA Fan Favorite Competition is a great way to show your support of the IFEA and your pride of our wonderful industry. We are fortunate to do what we do and should not shy away from sharing the importance of our industry and the association that represents all of us.

So let us celebrate the festivals and events we have missed this past year. Sign up today for the IFEA Fan Favorite Competition. Deadline to enter, Monday, August 30, 2021.

To learn more or enter the IFEA Fan Favorite Competition go to the IFEA website.

Kevin Grothe, CFEE IFEA Foundation Board Chair Vice President of Sponsorships Memphis in May International Festival Memphis, TN

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