In Crisis Mode - Safety is a Responsibility of All of Us

By Kassie Hilgert

Eample !

It was John F. Kennedy who once said: “The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis.’ One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger-- but recognize the opportunity.”

Event organizers can have the best intentions but that also means acknowledging that we won’t always get it right. But we are committed to making sure we correct missteps to get it right the next time. For ArtsQuest and other organizations in the live entertainment and event industries, to begin welcoming the return of crowds at live events and festivals, so too must we look at how we calculate and plan for safety.

Since its inception in 1984, Musikfest has continued to operate as the nation’s largest non-gated free-admission festival, with more than 500 performances on 15 stages over 10 days every August. The first Musikfest featured 295 performances on six stages, attracting more than 180,000 people to historic Bethlehem.

During the past three decades, the event has evolved into one of the largest and most diverse music festivals in the nation. People from across the country and around the globe travel annually to the Lehigh Valley in order to attend the Pennsylvania-based festival, with 2022 attendance drawing some 1,240,000 individuals from 39 states, Washington, DC, and eight countries. The previous record was 1,226,000 in 2019.

One of the continuing themes we communicate to staff and volunteers, regardless if it is an event as largescale as Musikfest, ongoing weekly programming, or a single-site event, is the notion of “See Something, Say Something.” Effective safety management is a responsibility of all, an exercise requiring continuous improvement, with a willingness to recognize opportunities for improvement both in process and practice.

For ArtsQuest to execute a large-scale event like Musikfest – across multiple locations and venues in the North and South sides of the city – security meetings are conducted throughout the year, with ArtsQuest staff and volunteers who are also engaged in mass emergency response training sessions annually. Not only are these meetings and training sessions important for identifying and defining roles of each responding outside agency, but also aid in assuring that the organization maintains consistency in its commitment to providing a safe, and therefore more successful event each year.

EXAMPLE 1 identifies the various governmental and emergency agencies involved in coordinating public safety and emergency response efforts with ArtsQuest for the annual 10-day Musikfest. Daily meetings are conducted with the above-identified agencies during Musikfest to address any concerns and issues relating to the festival, to ensure that any potential threats are identified, enabling (if needed) changes to the day’s operating schedule, effectively mitigating any potential public safety issue.

Spread across nearly 60-acres on Bethlehem’s North and South sides, the festival’s footprint also encompasses two counties. All of the agencies work together with regard to decision-making, planning, and both analysis and anticipation of potential public safety and emergency scenarios, with the City of Bethlehem and the Bethlehem Police Department taking the response lead on emergency incidents.

During Musikfest 2022, an isolated incident some 20-minutes prior to the festival’s 11 p.m. closing on the second Saturday prompted activation of the collaborative emergency response plans. The timeline, outlined in EXAMPLE 2 represents how ArtsQuest and governmental/emergency agencies implemented emergency response protocols to mitigate additional risks to festival attendees, volunteers and staff.

Eample 2

Throughout the festival, the Bethlehem Police Department had been utilizing the Musikfest App, in addition to video cameras and other surveillance methods to monitor areas where large crowds were assembling. These surveillance mechanisms enabled officials to observe and track crowd density and movements in real-time, allowing for the redistribution of law enforcement resources that correlated with attendee location. This technology use is what ultimately enabled police officers to arrive within 20 seconds of the incident, ensuring that the scene was secured.

Within four minutes of receiving the initial text message, as outlined above, ArtsQuest initiated its emergency response plan, and sent a message to all staff and volunteers, alerting them to the incident and law enforcement’s decision to shut down the north side. One minute later, ArtsQuest activated our “dark web” response protocol, putting up the image in EXAMPLE 3 across all web and social media channels.

Eample 3

Ten minutes later, another OneCall message was sent to staff and volunteers alerting that in the best interest of public safety, law enforcement was shutting down the entire festival while it continued to respond and secure the scene. The south side of the festival, which includes The Wind Creek Steel Stage, a 6,700-seat venue, was shut down and successfully cleared at 11:05 p.m.

As August 13 rolled swiftly into August 14, members of the ArtsQuest Crisis Communication team drafted a messaging statement and awaited approval from the City of Bethlehem. This enabled the city, law enforcement, and other applicable emergency agencies to remain focused and best positioned to continue leading the response and investigation.

Following protocols and processes outlined in the ArtsQuest Crisis Communication Plan, no additional statement or comment was offered until 12:26 a.m. It stated:

“August 14, 2022: On Saturday night, there was an isolated incident at Musikfest. As a precaution, the festival was shut down for the safety of patrons. The incident is under investigation by the Bethlehem Police Department.”

The statement, first shared by the City of Bethlehem, was then posted to all ArtsQuest organizational and/or event specific social media accounts, and all ArtsQuest organizational and/or event specific apps and websites at 12:28 a.m. (referring back to the appropriate, and leading investigative/responding authority).

While effective crisis management involves maintaining transparency and authenticity in any crisis communication strategy, law enforcement’s immediate priority is to focus response and resources to any active, or on-going investigation. It’s a delicate balance, to craft authentic and informative messages during circumstances that are fluid, while refraining from commentary that could impede law enforcement efforts.

When a crisis, or emergency occurs, people want to know what happens. Communication transparency is essential and vital to ensuring circulating rumors are fewer. Relevant and accurate information should be shared consistently, or via “one voice”. Speaking with one voice in a crisis doesn’t mean information comes from one individual, instead it allows for controlled and strategic information dissemination, as official communication and comment is provided from one consistent source.

On August 14, in the hours between 12:28 and 7 a.m., countless rumors, stories and inaccurate accounts of the incident swirled on social media, with localized, regional and national press outlets running coverage and seeking information that couldn’t be provided during the midst of the initial investigation.

At 7 a.m., members of the ArtsQuest Crisis Communication Team met with officials from the city and other agencies for an update and briefing. It was determined that the shooting was isolated between two individuals, with no other known or viable threat remaining to the general public. ArtsQuest then drafted another message that was approved by and posted to the City’s webpage and social media accounts at 9:20 a.m. It stated:

“The City of Bethlehem has authorized the festival to resume at noon today, as planned. Scheduling updates will be available via the Musikfest website or the Musikfest app.”

Effective crisis management is extremely complex and involves a steadfast commitment to maintaining healthy working relationships between governmental and law enforcement agencies. Internally, organizations must work to ensure consistent crisis education, training and preparedness among all employees, event staff, volunteers, vendors, and other stakeholders.

In the weeks and months that’ve followed this year’s incident, ArtsQuest has remained steadfast in our commitment to ensure that event safety remains central to our event planning. That commitment involves acknowledging things that looked fine on paper, went well during training, but none-the-less proved ineffective when put into practice.

For example, at the initial onset of the Musikfest incident, everyone within its geographical vicinity was attempting to utilize their cellphone, overwhelming wi-fi and mobile provider capacities. As a result, ArtsQuest faced frustrating internal communication deficiencies.

With phone communication and text messaging capabilities nearly impossible, our ability to push out an effective emergency notification to staff and volunteers was delayed. The promised and valued notion of communication transparency was unavoidably challenged, the probability of internal distrust further fueling external speculation and rumors. To address the internal communication failures, and provide updated and accurate information, an all-staff zoom meeting was held at 10:30 a.m.

As suggested by President Kennedy, success during a crisis equates to being both aware of immediate danger and open to opportunities the crisis may provide. While frustrating in the moment, missteps while “In Crisis Mode” shouldn’t be akin to failure. Effective crisis management is meant to be fluid, with post-crisis debriefing, evaluation and plan evolution approached in a way that encourages input from all stakeholders and actively reenforces the conviction that “Safety is a Responsibility of all of Us”.

As President and CEO of ArtsQuest, Kassie Hilgert leads one of the largest nonprofit arts organizations in Pennsylvania. Founded in 1984, the organization is dedicated to providing unparalleled access to the arts, as well as using arts and culture as key tools for economic development in urban environments. Each year, ArtsQuest presents 2,000 concerts, art and educational programs, with 65 percent of this programming available for free. Among the organization’s most well-known offerings are Musikfest, the nation’s largest free music festival; Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem, a holiday market that attracts 60,000 visitors annually to Bethlehem; and the Banana Factory, a former banana distribution warehouse that’s now a thriving community visual arts center. ArtsQuest has also partnered with the City of Bethlehem on a unique revitalization of the city’s former Bethlehem Steel plant, transforming the mill into SteelStacks, a dynamic, new arts & entertainment district.

A graduate of Pennsylvania State University, Hilgert has two decades of experience in marketing, development, corporate communications and community relations. Prior to ArtsQuest, she served as Manager of Community Relations and Philanthropy at Fortune 500 company Air Products.

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