Inside Events and Festivals - March 2020

Inside Events and Festivals The official publication of the Washington Festivals & Events Association

WFEA Members Assisting Hospitals, Medical Workers in Washington State: See Page 16 •

“Helping Hands” Newsletter to Debut Next Week: See Page 4

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Special COVID-19 Sponsorship Section: See Page 8

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2020 WFEA Conference Rescheduled: See Page 18

Inside Event & Festivals, March 2020

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Inside Event & Festivals, March 2020

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The Lineup Helping Hands Newsletter Introducing a newsletter to help remain connected and support during a difficult and uncertain time

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Special COVID-19 Sponsorship Section A collection of articles courtesy Caravel Marketing on how to approach this unprecedented time

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WFEA Members Are Assisting Hospitals and Medical Workers Around the State WFEA member supplier members are providing much-needed products in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak

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WFEA 2020 Conference Rescheduled October 13-15, 2020 Red Lion, Bellevue WA

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Additional COVID-19 Resources Additional resources to help navigate the COVID-19 crisis

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Inside Events and Festivals March 2020 Inside Event & Festivals, March 2020

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The Helping Hands Newsletter Consider Contributing an Article or Idea for this New Publication Debuting Next Week

By David Doxtater, The Workshop

David Doxtater Contact Information

Inside Event & Festivals, March 2020

The Workshop Contact Information

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Debuting next week, the Washington Festivals and Events Association is going to initiate the Helping Hands Newsletter, a publication designed to share ideas on how our members are coping with COVID-19. If you have an idea or can write a short article, please contact Bruce Skinner at bruce@wfea.org.

To make this as easy as possible, you can provide us your ideas and we can write an article for you.

The Helping Hands Newsletter Audience

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n recent weeks our industry, people, and ability to work have been completely devastated by the unexpected impacts of the existing health crisis.

This newsletter is created by the event industry for the event industry with a focus on the Washington Festivals and Events Association (WFEA) members as well as event industry organizers of events such as festivals, grand openings, meetings, concerts, launches, street fairs, etc.

While uncertainties abound we do not yet know the extent of these impacts or the long-lasting effects they may cause within the live event industry.

Truly, anyone working in the event industry that has been affected by our current crisis and who is looking at how to prepare and adapt throughout this ordeal and the future.

This is truly a time to come together and support one another as we look towards the future and beyond our current state.

Connecting our Industry through Difficult Times

We understand the importance of remaining connected and supported during such a difficult and uncertain time. We have created the Helping Hands newsletter with our event industry colleagues in mind to support and help one another through this unprecedented health crisis.

At this moment, individuals like you throughout the event industry are hurting tremendously from the impacts and distress caused by this crisis.

The financial impacts, stress, and pressure that have resulted from the unexpected surge in closures and cancellations across the event industry are truly devastating.

Our hope is that this newsletter becomes a valuable resource for event industry colleagues to share experiences, suggestions, ideas, and advice to help each other remain active and productive during this period and focus beyond the limitations that currently exist in our various capacities.

It is critical during this period to connect personally with one another and share in our experiences and challenges to provide support and hope for the future of our businesses.

We all have different viewpoints and knowledge that can be beneficial to others, let us use this platform as a way to promote unity and hope for the weeks and months to come while learning from one another.

We want to hear from the voices within our industry and how you are adapting your business practices based on your current situation and experiences.

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How Are You Tackling This Crisis?

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What measures are you taking and where do you need help in facing certain challenges or obstacles.

The reality is most of us were not prepared for a crisis such as this and we are all currently navigating in uncharted territories.

We Are Here to Help Through the Helping Hands newsletter, we hope to use this avenue to provide a valuable source of information and inspiration to all of the event industry.

By bouncing off ideas with one another and developing strategies to remain connected with our customers during this time we can ensure that we can put ourselves in the best position possible when exiting this crisis.

We want to address your most pressing concerns and provide any help we can to guide you through this period and help you set yourself up for success as we are able to normalize our operations and resume our businesses as usual.

Consider Contributing an Article to Helping Hands

If you have a particular question, idea, or concern you feel would be a great topic for us to cover please contact us.

Although the impacts of this crisis have been universal our approaches and mindsets for tackling this crisis could not be more different.

If you have an idea to share or guidance for your fellow colleagues consider contributing to the Helping Hands newsletter with an article from your perspective.

Inside Event & Festivals, March 2020

If you have not already done so please subscribe to the various versions of the Helping Hands newsletter and encourage your event industry friends and coworkers to do the same.

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Special Section: Sponsorship Resources During the COVID-19 Crisis Edited By Paula Beadle, Caravel Marketing Inside Event & Festivals, March 2020

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Doing Business Differently

Over the past few weeks the way we approach our clients, operations, and strategies has dramatically shifted. Every Caravel team member has stepped up in order to shift the way we operate and engage internally and externally. We are responding daily to the needs of the industry – from major crisis response and support for our clients to sharing insights and recommendations to the entire sponsorship and partnership community.

This is not a time for us to hoard our expertise, produce lackluster content, or obscure our own challenges and impacts. We are all experiencing the depth of this crisis. Our tiger approach has had a serious reckoning – while we may not approach sales with the same vigorous tactics, our fiery spirit lives on and is being reimagined in new ways.

Most importantly… we are here for YOU! We want to serve the industry we are passionate about and the friends we’ve made along the way. You are guiding our content so please continue to share with us what is most helpful. While our clients and sponsors are pausing, we are keeping busy planning and supporting our industry. Reach out – call, email, connect. We’d love to hear from you.

About Caravel Marketing: Caravel Marketing specializes in revenue development and partnership marketing. Caravel develops and implements strategic plans to increase revenue and accelerate performance; we guide the entire process from beginning to end, connecting events and properties with brands to create meaningful partnerships.

LinkedIn:

Paula Beadle, CEO

Email:

Paula Beadle, CEO

Facebook:

Caravel Marketing

LinkedIn:

Caravel Marketing

Web:

Caravel Marketing

About the Authors:

Paula Beadle is the CEO of Caravel Marketing, a national consulting company specializing in sponsorship marketing, and the founder of Sponsorship Mastery, an annual summit and programming dedicated to improving individual and organizational sponsorship performance. She is a results-driven trailblazer with a proven record of developing smart strategies and creatively connecting the right partners. Paula has helped iconic events and major brands achieve their goals through innovative sponsorship initiatives, generating incremental revenue and successfully coaching thriving teams, executives and boards.

Michael Kithcart is a Strategy Consultant at Caravel Marketing. Throughout her career, Michael has transformed organizations, created divisions, organized startups and enhanced the effectiveness of individuals and teams. She is a leader in working with organizations to develop strategic initiatives that meet and exceed sponsorship sales goals.

Austin Hahn is the Director of Partnerships at Caravel Marketing. Austin is a sponsorship marketing outsider with over seven years of experience in the sports and entertainment industry. Austin solves business problems by bringing brands and properties together around sustainable sponsorship solutions. He isn’t afraid to challenge the status quo of conservative sponsorship thinking.

Alexandra Reinken is the Marketing & Event Manager at Caravel Marketing. Alexandra has been a storyteller and content enthusiast for over a decade and has contributed to countless blogs, appeals, and marketing campaigns on a range of platforms.

Most recently she has taken over the Sponsorship Mastery Summit Twitter in hopes of producing some of wittiest and relevant tweets around. Outside of crafting clever content, she enjoys spending time with her daughter Kayla and their pup Scallywag.

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Special COVID-19 Sponsorship Section

The Power of Partnerships

By Michael Kithcart, Caravel Marketing

The power of sponsorship marketing will unite sponsors with events, causes, and properties in stronger and more innovative ways in the future. Sponsorship is the most effective marketing channel to directly connect with audiences in a meaningful way. Be prepared to arm your brand partners with data and insights that reinforce the advertising effectiveness, brand alignment, audience engagement, and creativity sponsorship delivers.

Recovery is inevitable. History has proven that communities recover and rebound with innovative ideas, approaches and strategies. Undoubtedly a new definition of success will be established for events and sponsors that are bold and resourceful.

Sports, entertainment, events and venues will need to reimagine sponsorship programs and the value they provide.

Sponsors will need to develop new sponsorship and revenue strategies. They will need a greater return for their investment in event marketing and sponsorship. The decisions brands are making right now will have a long-term effect and while the spotlight will remain bright over the next few weeks and months, it is their support during the recovery and rebuild phase that will have a significant impact. As an industry we will be smarter and more successful because the situation will demand it. That same sense of determination for success is what is currently propelling events and properties across the country to implore their sponsors to stand by their side during this crisis.

supporting their communities. When brands commit to an event, even after it’s been canceled, audiences remember and reward those brands. We applaud yesterday’s New York Times article announcing the Olympics sponsors public commitment to maintain support.

2. Sponsorship campaigns deliver multiple marketing tactics Partnerships provide brands the ability to activate multichannel marketing tactics. Marketing exposure is significantly increased because of the consistent communications events are able to employ to reach engaged audiences. Marketing efforts are not limited to banners and signage—a true partnership provides opportunities to connect with an event’s audience in meaningful ways—digital, print, experiential, promotions, etc. The digital efforts initiated by events open a direct line of engagement between consumers and brands.

3. Events attract and engage consumers People will attend their favorite events; they will look for ways to reconnect and celebrate. We anticipate July 4th will be a significant time for communities to celebrate—either at events or at home. It will be unifying. We also predict that parks and recreation departments will see a surge in visitors, and we’re encouraging them to carefully consider how to integrate corporate partners. Parks offer natural social distancing, health and wellness, and community. Parks present a unique opportunity for brand integration. A recent study conducted revealed: “The U.S. public currently anticipates returning to their more usual attendance behaviors within three to six months.” The chart below shows the activities people intent to return to:

Now is a good time for teams, events, causes and properties to look at how they are telling their story. It’s a good time to remind companies why they should turn to sponsorship and the huge value they deliver to brands. Below are some key reasons why brands should maintain partnerships now and in the future.

1. Sponsorships build consumer loyalty The most successful sponsorships are based on a shared goal to create experiences that will galvanize an audience around a brand. These experiences—provided by events and properties—have the ability to reinforce a brand personality and promise. And research has proven consumers have positive feelings about brands that support their favorite events. Now more than ever, consumers are keeping a watchful eye on brands. They want to know how brands are

Inside Event & Festivals, March 2020

The moment when communities re-emerge and are ready to celebrate, engage and explore will be a momentous occasion. The presence of brands at an event will be pivotal in sending a message of solidarity that brands believed in the purpose and stood by their partner. It will be an opportunity to strengthen and build consumers like never before.

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Special COVID-19 Sponsorship Section

Rising to the Occasion

By Michael Kithcart, Caravel Marketing

In the event industry, the last month has been a series of reactions and triage. Events have been canceled last minute and seasons ended or postponed responding to the need to isolate. Everyone’s had to move to working remotely, revenue has stopped. As event leaders you’ve had to make hard calls, answer to boards, appeal to corporate partners, communicate to a variety of audiences. Hard decisions have already been made and more are on the horizon.

When the change is rapid, deep, and ongoing, how does that shape leadership style? When the country has to shut out and shut down for the virus, how do leaders prevent a shutdown of progress? This will be a defining moment in time. For all the hard and painful decisions that have already been made, this is also a time to rise to the occasion, adjust to the changing tides while grounding in actions of consistency that will help carry teams and organizations through for the future.

These are areas we are seeing that can make a real difference for organizations. These are areas that as a leader, you can directly influence, guide, shape and put in motion.

1. Prepare for recovery now It may feel better to play it safe right now, but it will impede recovery later. Hold and respond to both a near-term and a long-term plan.

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Figure out what your near-term timelines are. Two-week chunks? The next 30 or 60 days? Look at what needs to happen with staff, the board, sponsors, operations, external and internal communications, expenses and cash flow. What has to continue to happen in these next weeks and months to keep the organization going and position it for the future? Put it in place. Examine it

Inside Event & Festivals, March 2020

weekly, connect on it daily.

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Carve out time for scenario planning to develop a longerterm plan. What are the probabilities, best case and worst case scenarios for end of year, a year from now.

Once this has been determined, what are the steps you can put in place right now that will make the plan possible? What will you measure to know if it’s working and still on point? When will you make adjustments? Test and fail quickly. Build on what’s working.

2. Engage on every level and then do it some more Your team, board, partners all need to know what to count on now even while much is still changing. Share information.

Include people in idea generation to be part of the solution.

Keep connecting with your event peers and be generous in sharing current realities and what you’re doing. You simply cannot over communicate right now. Inform everyone multiple times. Provide calm and share what is known today, acknowledge it might change. Reassure you will communicate every step of the way.

3. Skill up – Engage the brain and learn something new or go deeper in your area of expertise.

On-line learning has never been so abundant or available.

Encourage your team to do the same. Participate on group sessions for events, be on webinars or conduct some. The way you’ve led in the past might not get you or the organization where it needs to go. Invest time in your development to get and be better.

4. Keep your head right.

There are many added pressures right now and people need you on your “A” game. It’s so important you do what you need to be at your best, and to have a clear mind. Think of leadership as being in high performance training mode. Eat right, sleep, exercise, meditate, turn off the devices, spend time with your family.

What you do now will directly determine your readiness for tomorrow. Now is the time to rise to the occasion and be the leader your organization and team needs.

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Special COVID-19 Sponsorship Section

5 Ways to Keep Your Sponsorship Sales Process Active

By Austin Hahn, Caravel Marketing

It may feel a bit awkward during this time to be conducting outreach, however it’s important during this time of uncertainty to maintain your efforts and, more importantly, plan for the future.

As a person in sponsorship marketing, it’s up to each of us to keep facing forward, because this current situation is only TEMPORARY. Now is your opportunity to clean-up, shoreup, and reach-out.

Be smart about your outreach efforts, while some people welcome the opportunity to connect and talk about the future, others do not. Be respectful, sensitive and do your homework. Maintain momentum in your outreach efforts by staying focused on tackling action items every day. Check out our list of other areas in the sales process that could use some tender, loving care.

3. Update your CRM Take this time to establish a CRM tool or update your existing sales tool. Sponsorship is a relationship game, and it’s important to keep track of everyone you’re reaching out to. It’s difficult to onboard a CRM in the middle of a season, so now is the perfect time to get your contacts organized. If you haven’t implemented a CRM tool, now is a great time to find the right fit for your needs. Below are a few of our favorite tools: •

Hubspot (our personal favorite)The basic package is free, you can track phone calls, emails, and will show you when a prospect has opened your email.

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TrelloExtremely user friendly, uses a storyboard layout, someone described it good for businesses with a “super flexible workflow.”

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Monday.comLaid out like an excel spreadsheet, has ready-made templates to work from, and great for larger teams.

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Fresh SalesOne of the highest rated tools, you can create reports, pretty much does everything you can imagine, $12 per month for small businesses, you can track activity on your own website as well.

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ZohoCovers everything from marketing analytics to point of sale, free for up to 10 users, easy navigation.

1. Update your sales decks

4. Update your email templates

How you tell your story visually and literally are important when making first impressions. Take this time to work with your design team to give your materials a fresh new look. Not sure how to start or what it should look like, give us a shout and we can help.

Dedicate some extra time to playing with your outreach and follow up templates. It’s difficult to work these out in a crunch, so the extra time can be valuable when crafting a new message that’s in your authentic voice.

2. Prepare to catch the unicorns

5. Connect with someone you haven’t spoken to in a while

We all have them – brands you have the perfect idea for but can’t connect with. Update your research and contacts for the people you wish to meet most once this is all over. The reality of the situation is that most of us have a lot of extra time on our hands, which means those brands you’ve been so eager to reach may actually be more willing to have a conversation with you now that their time has also freed up.

Connect with friends and leaders in the industry and even competitors. We can learn a lot from others, and sometimes opportunities come up even when we aren’t looking for them.

Most of all, now is the time to connect with that old industry colleague. I’m sure they would love hearing from you. Now more than ever.

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Remember you’re trying to think more creatively – so going back to “what has always worked” may not be compelling when you’re trying to stand out. Then you can start by “throwing spaghetti on the wall.” Get all the ideas out there then you can work on refining and narrowing what opportunities are plausible.

Special COVID-19 Sponsorship Section

Channeling Creativity to Strengthen Your Assets

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Know who your stakeholders are. Beyond your team, are you reaching out to event attendees, founding groups, vendors, board members, sponsors, committee members? It can even be beneficial to reach out to these stakeholders directly because they may not feel as empowered (or inspired) in more formal group settings.

Bonus – it’s an opportunity to strengthen your relationships!

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Collaborating with your networks can be a powerful experience. While you are all experiencing the impacts of this phenomenon, the specific needs and challenges may be different from property to property. Connecting with your network of sponsorship professionals is a way to discuss and problem solve broad and specific challenge areas.

By Alexandra Reinken, Caravel Marketing

This spring something besides the flowers blossomed… the worlds creativity. From balcony choirs, to producing large scale events on digital platforms, to repurposing facilities to produce in demand goods, individuals and communities are collectively raising the bar on how to think outside the box for a greater good. Sponsorship leaders now have the opportunity to channel creativity, innovation, and resourcefulness for their programs.

Right now, the pressure for business leaders to develop new strategies and tactics to strengthen partnerships and drive revenue is greater than ever. One area where you can stretch your creative muscles is by assessing your assets.

The needs of brands and properties are rapidly changing, and a template of assets isn’t going to suffice if you want to stand out among, what is bound to be, fierce competition for sponsorship dollars. Assessing your assets and seeing where you can be creative now, can strengthen your position when the time comes to renew contracts and cultivate prospective sponsors.

Here are some key ways to channel creativity to strengthen your assets:

Collaborate with your team Working alongside your team and key stakeholders is a major advantage of being successful throughout the creative process. Besides you, your team and stakeholders are the best source for knowing what assets are available. They can help develop some of the craziest, wildest ideas, while also keeping things grounded in reality. Here are some tips for collaborating: •

Have a team “Big Idea” A blank slate is a great place.

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Inspiration comes from community Community is a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals. We have seen an incredible sense of community unfold over the past few weeks and months. Resources that would have previously been trade secrets are now being shared for the collective good. You can find inspiration everywhere, including: •

Organize a zoom call with your like-minded counterparts around the country for

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Look outside of your circle for ideas. If you are in sports, look to cultural arts for ideas. Reach out, join, and collaborate with influencers outside of your network.

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Look at what others in the industry are doing. Check out agencies, blogs, social media trends, association forums, etc.

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Let’s get digital, digital

Our new friend, experience

The time has come to make sure your digital assets are in great shape. The work you put in now to make sure you have a solid digital plan could make or break a deal in the future.

Brands are seeing the power of digital connection like never before and will be looking for creative opportunities.

When it comes to assessing your assets, think outside of the box on how you can create innovative experiences to connect your audience with sponsors. Customized experiences are significantly more appealing to sponsors because they create a more meaningful, lasting impression with your event and audience.

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Produce quality digital experiences. If you’re going to produce an event online, make sure the same care and attention that you put into the physical event translates on screen.

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Providing consistent and creative content will go a long way with building a strong, engaged, audience.

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Remember, you’re creating value. Think about what sponsors will see as a revenue or awareness opportunity for them.

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New digital trends are emerging every day. Take a look at what technologies and production styles are gaining momentum and see how you can apply use them to promote your events, programs and further your mission.

Some examples include VR/AR, webisodes, podcasts, live streams, and webcasts.

Right now primary method of engagement is through digital means. Take this time to explore new ways of engaging your audiences. It is very likely that opportunities to connect your digital content and sponsors will be imminent. We will be exploring this topic further with a full blog about the new age of digital marketing. Stay tuned for more.

We’ve talked a lot about big ideas over the past 6 months and now may be a good time to rethink how you create unique experiences to connect sponsors with your audiences. You’re likely going back to the negotiating and discovery table with your partners. Here are two steps from our good friend, Britt Carlson from Special Olympics Oregon to kickstart your big idea brainstorm process: 1. Start with the “why” (credit to Simon Sinek). When you understand what an organization does, but more importantly why they do it – you’re going to be able to connect with them on a much deeper and more impactful level.

2. Unless the discovery process brings to light a very clear

desire and the creative campaign to go with it, my goal is to come back to the partner with several big ideas that show them how they might use my platform to accomplish their objectives. I rarely worry about vetting the logistics or even the cost when it comes to big ideas – I just want to see what makes their eyes sparkle. Often, an idea I present will trigger an imaginative breakthrough for the client or we will pull the themes that they liked and continue to tweak the proposal until we’ve found the right fit.

Our old friend, awareness Increasing awareness has long remained the crux of many sponsor proposals, but has dropped down the list of most important goals to brands in recent years. Brands will have new goals and objectives, and increasing awareness may see an uptick. It’s time to refresh and create opportunities that will align with the current environment and needs.

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WFEA Members Are Assisting Hospitals and Medical Workers Around the State

By Bruce Skinner, WFEA

Bruce Skinner Contact Information

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WFEA Contact Information

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n increasing number of WFEA member supplier members are providing much-needed products and quick service to the hard-hit healthcare industry in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Event professionals are no strangers to setting up venues with supplies on very short notice. So their expertise is coming in handy for hospitals and other venues. Several WFEA members are offering their services and giving back to their communities during these trying times.

The events industry is well-suited for assisting in these areas.

“One of the reasons that most of us are in the events business is that we thrive on coming up with fast solutions,” said Eddie Redman of Grant Event Rentals, who is providing tents for testing sites and other medical facilities. “We are hoping that we can help make a difference so that we can be a part of the solution.”

In addition to providing tents to hospitals, Grand Event Rentals is also donating tables and chairs to go with them, said Redman. “We want to do our part to help out.”

The biggest plus to Redman is that he is able to help his employees. “We were looking at laying a lot of people off, so we’re glad that there is a demand.

“However, we have to be a lot more careful.

Employees are wearing full masks, gloves, eye protection, and they take cleaner with them.”

Grand Event Rentals Contact Information

Bucket pivoted quickly. “Our team came up with an ingenious solution. We took our temporary fence stand and attached our hand sanitizer to it. After a few prototypes, we came up with a two-headed hand sanitizer dispenser stand for hospitals, doctor’s offices, and other businesses that were running out of hand sanitizer.

“This was a product that didn’t exist a month ago, and now it’s helping customers and saving lives, “Rice continued.

Honey Bucket Contact Information

Seattle Children’s Hospital Alexander Party Rentals of Kent has supplied tents to Seattle Children’s Hospital for fundraisers. But they received a different kind of call from them a few weeks ago.

After their bookings for tent rentals fell by 50 percent during the first week in March, the hospital contacted them and said that they needed tents for a drive through testing clinic.

“We had to decide how we were going to do this, as supplying tents to a hospital is much more complex than a typical event,” said company President Scott Alexander. “All of the tents they need have to be fully floored, walled and heated, and you have to follow strict healthcare guidelines” he said. “And when you bring them back to our building, we have to make sure that the virus is dead. Protecting our employees is a priority.

Alexander said it’s been very stressful managing the financial piece, “as we had to make investments to take care of significant accessories.

Alexander Party Rentals Contact Information

“But in the end, it’s been very satisfying. We were looking at laying people off, then all of a sudden there is a demand. I’m glad we’ve had a part to play, and that we can continue to employ our people.”

Click here to view a video of one of Alexander Party Rentals larger instillations

Honey Bucket, who supplies portable toilets, sinks and other products to the special events industry, was first contacted by hospitals and other medical facilities that were need of hand sanitation solutions.

“We have a lot of hot water sinks,” said Denise Rice, Director of Event Sales for Honey Bucket Portland Restrooms, “but there was a run on all of them. Our sink suppliers had a long wait time, and there was a back order in most markets.”

Since the healthcare industry needed a solution fast, Honey

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Tim Medved of U-Cool Refrigeration also was facing a totally bleak situation when the shutdown occurred.

“I’ve always told everybody that 50 percent of our business is restaurants, and 50 percent is for events.

Obviously both of those industries have been hit hard.”

But he also has found opportunity. He has rented refrigerated trucks to the Orting Food Bank, the White Center Food Bank, and to the Seattle Police Guild, who is using a vehicle to hand out sandwiches to first responders.

WFEA Executive Director Bruce Skinner is not surprised to see the event industry step up with creative solutions.

“Good event vendors and producers are essentially professional problem solvers,” he said. “This pandemic is what our supplier members have been training for without knowing it.”

WFEA members’ good decisions will literally help to save lives. “Hopefully we’ll be able to put this behind us sooner than later,” Skinner said. “But today our members are helping when it matters most.

“We’ve been very glad to help out,” he said. “As a company that help events, we like to serve others.”

U-Cool Refrigeration Contact Information

WFEA ANNUAL CONFERENCE RESCHEDULED OCTOBER 13-215, 2020 RED LION, BELLEVUE WA

REGISTER AT WFEA.ORG

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Additional COVID-19 Resources Navigating CARES Act Assistance Programs Applications to Start This Friday April 3 Things are moving fast but here’s the best information we have to date: The CARES Act passed by the US Congress last week includes relief for nonprofits. We are working with partners to ensure that nonprofits in Washington get the timeline information they need to access these benefits.

What you should do today if you are in financial distress: Contact your banker immediately. Ask them if they are an SBA lender, and if they can help you apply for a Payroll Protection Program loan. If so, get in their queue for an appointment and assistance. If you are eligible (most 501(c)3s in distress will be), you can borrow money to primarily pay your staff but also for rent and utilities with the potential that the loan will be forgiven later as a grant. To help you prepare for your meeting with your banker see the SBA sample application form here.

Consider applying online for an SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan. This program will disburse $10,000 to you within three days, and that amount can likely be forgiven. Larger amounts are available at a low interest rate.

Learn more about all the CARES Act programs by watching the National Council of Nonprofits’ March 31 webinar. Check out the summary of the loans available under the CARES Act in this chart.

Go to our CARES Act blogpost through the button below for our most updated information and resources in the coming days.

Information Via:

More Resources

COVID-19 Projections Keep track of important COVID-19 projections assuming full social distancing via The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is an independent global health research center at the University of Washington.

https://covid19.healthdata.org/projections

COVID-19 Handbook for Creative Industries King County just released this very informative handbook to help the creative community respond to the collapse of our industry, our work and our jobs in the Northwest.

In this time of health and financial crisis, the response from our local government to help and inform us, is very much appreciated.

https://handbook.kingcountycreative.com/#

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Washington Festivals & Events Association 1015 Georgiana St. Port Angeles, WA 98362 www.wfea.org

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