Hello,  this  is  Christy  Callabg, host  of  Vital  Connections  on  Air. We  have  been  experiencing some  really  difficult  things  in  the  last  few  months, and  we  know  that  there  are  more  challenges  ahead. At  the  Center  for  Community  Vitality, we  have  been  working  to  bring  topics  and partners  together  through  webinars and  articles  since  the  end  of  March to  get  you  the  information  that  you  need. Now  I'm  going  back  to  those  educators  and  asking  them  for updates  and  insights  on  what we  should  be  doing  in  our  current  context. I'm  sharing  small  parts  from these  long  conversations  over the  next  several  weeks  so  that  we  can  listen, reconnect  with  ideas, hopefully  take  the  next  small  steps. Here  is  part  of  my  conversation  with  Lisa  Chin, extension,  educator  and  Tourism  Specialist with  the  Tourism  Center. As  we  reflect  on  the  tourism  industry  and  covid 19  webinar  series  she  led  earlier  this  year, I  want  to  transition  to  a  hot  topic that  we've  seen  on a  very  small  level  all  the  way  up  to  a  very  large  level. And  that  is  community  celebrations. Thinking  about  my  hometown and  their  small  little  celebration all  the  way  to  the  State  fair  being canceled  for  2020.  Yes. It's  a  really  tough  decision  to  make. So  what  are  some  of  the  factors that  have  been  going  on  behind the  scenes  that  I  as just  a  community  member  may  not  be  aware  of, that  our  community  leaders  and officials  have  had  to  grapple  with. Sure,  that's  a  very  good  question. And  there  is  a  long  list  of  factors that  are  complex  and  of  intertwining with  each  other  that  event  organizers  must consider  in  order  to successfully  organize  and  implement  a  festival. The  first  and  foremost  is  timeline. There  are  many  festivals  and events  scheduled  to  take  place in  July  or  August  that  were  canceled  in  May. And  folks  might  be  wondering,  well, why  can't  you  wait  until  July  to cancel  an  August  event  that  is  due  to? The  first  and  foremost  factor  is  timeline. For  example,  event  organizers  will need  to  arrange  vendors  and  suppliers. They  need  to  set  schedules. They  need  to  reserve  space, they  need  to  organize  the  volunteers. All  these  are  time  sensitive, especially  when  we  talk  about  a  larger  scale  festival. For  example,  the  Irish  Fair  of  Minnesota  in  August. And  organizing  for  Irish  Fair, the  preparation  starts  shortly  after  the  New  Year, and  so  putting  on  a  successful  event  or festival  usually  requires  a  very  long  lead  time. That  brings  me  to  some  of  the  other  important  factors. For  example,  the  labor  availability. A  lot  of  these  festivals and  events  to  rely  on  volunteers, Some  of  them  may  be  run completely  entirely  by  volunteers. If  volunteers  do  not  feel comfortable  being  out  there  doing  the  volunteering  work, then  there  will  be  no  labor  available  to assist  the  festival  organizer to  make  the  festival  happen. Labor  availability  is  a  very  crucial  consideration. Also,  sponsorship  many  events  or  say festivals  are  able  to  break  even  thanks  to  sponsorships. If  major  sponsors  no  longer  have the  capacity  to  financially  provide  a  sponsorship, or  they  do  not  feel  comfortable sponsoring  any  public  gatherings  due  to  the  pandemic. Once  you  lost  major  sponsors, then  financially  it  will  be  incredibly  difficult, which  obviously  naturally  brings us  to  financial  considerations. Organizing  a  festival  event does  incur  lots  and  lots  of  expenses. For  example,  you  might  contract  with  a  company to  set  up  a  tear down  of  your  event  venue,  your  event  site. You'll  need  to  book  entertainers,  for  example. You  may  need  to  rent  portable  restrooms and  disability  friendly  portable  restrooms. For  all  these,  you  may  need  to have  a  down  payment  at  a  certain  time. Then  we  are  hearing  the  interaction  between timeline  and  the  financial,  both  factors. These  are  just  a  few  of the  many  factors  that  event  organizers  have  to  consider. I  assume  that  there's  also probably  some  liability  concerns  as  well. As  you  bring  a  large  group  of  people  together, they're  thinking  about  the  possibility  of community  spread  and  how  that  may negatively  impact  how  people think  about  the  community  and  the  event  itself,  right? Yes,  indeed.  Oftentimes,  especially in  the  context  of  the  pandemic, it  is  not  always  unclear how  much  liability  an  event  has  to  take on  if  an  attendee  were  to contract  covid  19  while  attending  the  event, we  do  not  always  see  clear  guidance  on  that  either. And  also,  more  fundamentally, if  there  are  executive  orders  or  legal  orders  that  do not  allow  events  or say  public  gatherings  beyond  a  certain  number  of  people, then  as  long  as  the  order  is  in  place  then Festivals,  events  beyond  that  size  cannot  happen, that  certainly  they  are  all related  to  loss  and  a  liability. Right?  And  I  think  that one  thing  is  that  as  a  community  member, you  take  such  great  pride in  that  event  and  hosting  it  and  attending  it, and  running  the  Five  K  that  you've run  for  the  last  ten  years  or  something  like  that. But  as  we  as  community  members  are  hearing about  events  being  canceled,  first  off, I  think  probably  not  blaming the  planning  committee  and  being  angry  at them  for  the  decision  would  be the  first  thing  that  we  can do  to  be  a  good  community  member. But  what  are  some  other  things  that  we  can do  to  be  supportive  of that  planning  committee  and recognize  the  work  and  time that  they  put  into  the  decision, As  well  as  thinking  ahead  to  making a  really  good  event  the  next  time  around. I  really  have  the  urge  to  repeat  what  you  already  said. That  is  event  organizers  are the  persons  who  put  on  these  events. Sometimes  it  is  not  exaggerating  to  say  it breaks  their  heart  to  cancel  the  event. It  will  be  really  helpful  for local  residents  to  let  event  organizers know  that  even  though  you  may not  agree  with  the  decision  to  cancel, you  will  still  support  and  you  will support  event  organizers  in making  the  best  decision  possible. If  you  have  any  constructive  suggestions and  feedbacks  for  moving  forward, graciously,  let  event  organizers  know, they  will  definitely  appreciate  it. So  when  the  event  eventually  return, for  example,  hopefully  next  year, then  if  you  are  able  step  up  to volunteer  to  help  event  organizers, let  the  event  organizers  know  that  you  will  show  up. You  will  be  there  to  support and  help  when  the  event  comes  back. Also,  in  your  conversations with  friends  and  neighbors,  family  members, gently  educate  about  the  factors  that  all  go into  planning  and  operating  a  festival  or  event. So  that  folks  may  not  always  necessarily know  all  these  complex  factors  behind  the  scenes. We  can  all  use  some  education  so  that we  know  it  is  really  a  very  complex  process. Lastly,  let's  try  our best  to  find  a  new  ways  to  celebrate, to  socialize,  maybe  even  to  create  new  traditions. Maybe  we  document  it. We  may  write  it  in  our  diary. So  when  we  look  back, it  is  our  little  piece  of  very  unique  history. We  are  living  in  a  historical  time. We  are  in  this  together. We  all  want  to  be  constructive. We  understand  the  sadness, the  let  down,  the  disappointment,  even  the  anger. But  we  also  want  to  move  forward. We  want  to  maintain  hope. Let's  help  each  other  together. I  love  that.  I  think  you're  absolutely  right, stepping  up  to  volunteer  because  maybe losing  out  on  this  event  this  year made  you  realize  how  important  that  is  to  you. That  might  be  what  spurs  a  whole  new  group  of volunteers  to  come  and  breathe some  more  life  into  the  event  the  next  time  around. That's  a  great  idea.  Thank  you.  Thank  you. Yeah.  Are  there  things  that  event  organizers  can  do  in order  to  make  sure  that  they  are sharing  the  reasons  behind  the  decision  better? Or  just  the  process  so  that it  creates  more  community  understanding  and  trust? Yes,  Yes,  I  believe  so. I  believe  there  is  a  space  for event  organizers  to  communicate  some  of their  factors  they  have  to  consider  when they  make  a  decision  about  canceling  or  postponing. And  be  transparent  and  communicate in  a  very  clear  and  a  very, I  believe,  gracious  way. I  think  eventually  residents  and  attendees  who very  much  look  forward  to  the  event,  will  understand. Also,  I  think  for  event  organizers  to  be ready  for  disagreement,  for  resistance, because  this  is  also  an  opportunity to  educate  the  community, educate  local  residents  about the  work  that  goes  on  behind the  scenes  in  order  to  put together  and  implement  a  festival. Again,  respond  graciously  and  be  professional. Keep  in  mind  that  when  people  voice  their  disappointment, even  anger,  that's  because  they  care. That's  because  they  look forward  to  the  festival  or  event. I  think  it  takes  both  sides. Event  organizers  to  communicate very  clearly  and  also  for  community  members to  support  and  to  step  up  and  a volunteer  down  the  road  when  the  event  can  take  place, again,  for  us  to  move  forward  together. And  then  also  if  an  event  has  a  board, I  believe  this  is  also  the  time for  board  members  to  pull  their  weight. It  is  time  for  board  members  to  support  event  organizers. To  help  event  organizers  to  make  their  decisions. Board  members  also  need  to  communicate  about the  decisions  to  the  stakeholders and  to  local  residents,  to  the  community. Communication,  communication,  communication  is just  key  when  you're  dealing  with  things  like  this. Yes,  yes,  indeed  it  is. Communication  itself  is  also  a  process. Oh  yes,  absolutely. One  thing  that  I  would  really  like  to  end  on  is  in, I  can't  remember  which  webinar  it  was, but  you  use  the  quote, Everything  you  do  now  will  be  remembered, and  I  thought  that  that  was  very  true. What  are  some  small  things  that  you would  encourage  our  listeners  to  do  now? So  that  those  decisions  will  be  remembered  as  we move  into  the  next  phase  of  our  world. Sure,  not  to  tuning  our  own  horns, but  I  am  tuting  our  own  horns. The  way  Bell  Museum  of  Natural  History is  actually  a  part  of  the  University  of  Minnesota, but  of  course,  like  the  University, it  is  very  much  a  public  entity. It  communicates  very  clearly, and  I  would  say  with  a  very  appropriate  frequency. Not  too  much,  but  not  too  sporadic. Made  it  clear  the  first  week  is  a  member  only. They  appreciate  a  member, which  I  think  it's  fair  enough. And  also  they  have  changed  operation  days  and  times. Also  communicate  those  very  clearly and  also  highlighted  why  they  made  a  decision to  reopen  and  what  they  are  going  to  do  for enhanced  safety  and  cleanliness  protocols  and  actions. Because  the  museum  has  so  many  different  parts  and activities  laid  out  very  clearly, I  think  from  the  big  decision  of  whether  to reopen  or  not  and  when  to  reopen  and  at  what  capacity. These  are  very  fundamental  decisions to  the  decision  to  reserve  the  first  week  for  members only  and  to  operate  at a  25%  capacity  and  have  a  phase  to  reopening. So  I  feel  like  this  is  a  very  good  example in  terms  of  decisions  made  and  communications done  that  certainly  I hope  has  left  a  positive  mark  or  say, impression  hopefully,  on  the  majority of  its  guests  and  stakeholders. I  think  this  is  a  very  good  example. Thank  you  to  Lisa  Chen  for  this  conversation. To  see  all  of  the  resources available  from  the  tourism  center, visit  extension,  community  development,  tourism. Make  sure  to  follow  us  on Facebook  and  Twitter  to  state  up  to  date on  new  research  and  resources for  communities  and  those  who  lead  them. We  hope  that  you  will  join  us  for  our  next  episode  of Vital  Connections  on  air  and  please  stay  well.