Inside Events & Festivals - January 2020

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

See Inside: •

The Formula for Success from George Sharp

•

“Learn, Earn & Return”

•

Announcing the 2020 WFEA Conference Schedule

Pictured: Chocolate on the Beach Festival February 27-March 1, 2020

Pacific Beach, WA

The Lineup The Formula for Success How to make your community or festival reach its potential Page 3

Caravel Marketing Job Opening Partnership Manager Page 5

“Learn, Earn & Return�

John Thorburn on the circular path to evolving and a few life lessons Page 7

WFEA 2020 Conference Schedule March 24-26, 2020 Red Lion, Bellevue WA Page 9

Inside Events and Festivals January 2020 Washington Festivals & Events Association

6P+CS+Q+A=S The Formula for Success George Sharp Thurston Economic Development Council

H

ave you ever wondered what makes one community or festival reach its full potential while others don’t? I have spent a career working in communities with festivals and the people involved in making them happen to understand what I consider the formula for success is.

I have titled the formula: 6P+CS+Q+A=S The first P in the formula for Success is for Passion.

Successful communities and festivals are filled with people with passion for the community festival and passion for others to succeed as well. Passion is the fuel that drives community and festival betterment and is contagious as it is shared among those involved and often is responsible for recruiting new people to the effort.

The second P is for Personality. It is important to understand your personality type and how you are being perceived as well as the personality type of those you come into contact and work with. Each personality type has a different way of communication that works with and for them.

Understanding where people are coming from and how they operate is vital to building a long term working relationship with them. I have witnessed personality differences stop community and festival efforts.

The third P is for Plan. You need to establish an overall plan that addresses mission, vision, goals, strategies, tactics, budget, timeline, roles and responsibilities of staff and volunteers, measurements and evaluation method. In developing the plan you should conduct a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis and also ask: What do we do really well?, What could we do better?, What should we stop doing?, What should we start doing?, Who else should we be partnering with? , and what other resources do we need to be successful?

The fourth P is for Partnerships. Today with limited resources of time and finances, organizations need to create partnerships to be successful.

The fifth P is for Politics. Politics occur at many levels, including the organization. It is important to

Boo-Coda Spook-Tacular October 2020, Bucoda, WA understand what are the key issues and concerns being addressed. It is important to make sure that local, county, state and federal elected officials know what you are trying to accomplish. Often they are aware of resources that can assist you.

The sixth P is for Perseverance. If at first you don’t succeed try try again is very true for community and festival development. The key to perseverance is gathering your team and monitor, evaluate and adjust your plan.

The CS stands for Common Sense. All too often group think can occur and no one stops to ask does this make common sense? Take the time to ask people who know nothing about your festival and describe what you are proposing and see what they think. Do they say that makes common sense or what the heck are you thinking?

The Q stands for Quality. Quality needs to be instilled into everything associated with your community and festival.

The A stands for Attitude. An attitude of “We Can Do It” is what is needed by today’s individuals who are working together for the betterment of the community and festival.

The S stands for success. You need to determine what success looks like and who determines if you have reached it.

Caravel Marketing Job Opening: Partnership Manager Caravel Marketing is a national consulting company specializing in sponsorship marketing. We develop and implement strategic plans to make connections and create meaningful partnerships. We coach and collaborate with clients, events, properties, and brands to accelerate performance and improve results.

We are leaders in sponsorship marketing. Caravel is a small but mighty company where integrity and grit guide our purpose to improve performance, increase revenue and make connections for our clients.

We are seeking an energetic Partnership Manager to lead the sponsorship sales efforts for our iconic clients. The ideal candidate has a passion for sponsorship and is motivated by developing creative, impactful programs and collaborating with our clients. This position is for someone who has demonstrated enthusiasm, contribution to revenue, and relationship building in sponsorship. This is an opportunity to be part of a creative, successful and growing team.

Full Description To Apply: Please send all inquiries with a cover letter and resume before January 17, 2020 to admin@caravelmarketing.com with “Partnership Manager� in the subject line of the email.

Seattle Scotch & Beer Fest, April 10-11, 2020

“Learn, Earn & Return” John Thorburn Bold Hat Productions

“Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.”

John Crosby More than 17 years ago, I was introduced to a tremendous mentor in my life. Michael Campbell hired me as a wide-eyed, young kid out of college to help manage communications at the Seattle-based Northwest Marine Trade Association (NMTA). In the event world, NMTA has produced the Seattle Boat Show since its first tent was pitched on the north shore of Lake Union in 1947. Today, the Seattle Boat Show is the largest event of its kind west of the Mississippi, attracting boaters to attend from nearly 40 states each January.

Michael is a legend and true showman in the event world, creating sporting events, working with world athletes, leading the Sports and Events Council of Seattle/King County, even racing cars on the Formula 3 circuit in Europe early in his career. When I was a child growing up in Seattle, I was one of 6,200 gleeful locals that attended the World Indoor Paper Airplane Championships in the Kingdome. Some 20 years later, I discovered Michael had organized that whole thing.

Michael always pushed his team to go and learn from others. He encouraged me to attend the WFEA conference held each March where others in our world gather to share ideas. He introduced to me the mantra “Learn, Earn and Return.”

For years I thought of that concept as a linear path in life. First you learn, then you earn, and then you’ve put yourself in a position to give back, whether that be through charitable giving, sharing knowledge or being a mentor yourself. As I’ve grown in my career, I realized that path is circular. We are always evolving, the opportunity to earn (whether that be income, joy or love) is infinite, and the chance to give is presented to us every day.

Today, Michael travels the world, retired, with his wife Debbie where they’ve pioneered an entire new, nomadic lifestyle living from one Airbnb to another.

Since starting their journey in 2013, the “Senior Nomads” have visited more than 80 countries. Talk about going and learning from others! If you’re

intrigued about their journey, you can follow their adventure at seniornomads.com.

A few other life lessons I learned from Michael: •

It is rare that any of us are wholly responsible for the success of our events.

When you have success, look for every opportunity to use the word “we.” We accomplished this, we are celebrating this… do not use “I” when you have the chance to recognize others’ contributions to a successful goal met.

•

Iron your shirt. (This was an early lesson for me).

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When giving a compliment, don’t use eraser words. An example, of what not to say when complimenting, “You did a great job on that presentation, but next time you might think about including this one thing,” Using the word “but” in that sentence erases the compliment beforehand. Instead, replace the word “but” with “and”, and the sentence is more powerful.

•

Give yourself permission to be comfortable with public speaking. Everyone is anxious about speaking in front of a group or to media. But recognize, when you’ve made a presentation to a group of 30 people, you’ve survived and checked that off your list. And when you’ve done live TV interviews seen by 100,000 people, you can check that off your list too. So when the time comes to present to another 30 people, remind yourself that you’ve survived bigger experiences and the 30 people will come a lot easier.

Fremont Fair, June 22-23, 2020

Each of us encounter both giants and small people in our industry as we create the amazing experiences that festivals and events bring to our communities. I am grateful for the lessons I’ve learned, whether that be from a firm hand planted squarely in my back from Michael, or from witnessing calm by others during load-in in the midst of a rainstorm.

I hope you’ll make time to join your peers at the next WFEA conference in March. You have knowledge and perspective that only you can share and that others will benefit from. I know I will enjoy learning from the very best people in our industry, building new contacts and leave feeling energized to add new life into my events.

WFEA ANNUAL CONFERENCE MARCH 24-26, 2020 RED LION, BELLEVUE WA REGISTER AT WFEA.ORG

WFEA ANNUAL CONFERENCE PRE- CONFERENCE WORKSHOP

2020 WFEA ANNUAL CONFERENCE

(Requires Separate Entry)

TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2020

TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2020 9:00 AM–3:45 PM NON-SPONSORSHIP REVENUE PROGRAMS/PROGRAMMING AND PRODUCTION NON-DUES INCOME: EXPLORE WAYS TO GROW THE BOTTOM LINE OF YOUR ORGANIZATION THROUGH MERCHANDISE, PROMOTIONS AND NON-TRADITIONAL FUNDRAISING Mike Berry, Secretary of Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet

What started as a way to generate community support for Kentucky Derby Festival by creating a plastic lapel pin has turned into a million-dollar program involving collectors, event admissions and grand prizes. Place your bet that these promotions might work for you, too.

MUSIC AND YOUR EVENT Ken Deans, COO, Flaregun

4:00 - 5:45 PM AFFINITY SESSIONS AND ROUND TABLE SESSIONS These sessions are held for professionals on a specific topic. Held in a roundtable setting, attendees can pick their topic and ask questions in an informal setting. It’s a great opportunity to get to know people in your area of expertise.

HEALTHY ACTIVE LIFESTYLE EVENTS Jared Loranger, Fizz Events Northwest; Tom Anderson, And Events, Patty Swedberg, Raise the Bar, Victoria Jones, North Olympic Discovery Marathon

SPONSORSHIP Trevor Lane, WSU Ferry County Extension

MARITIME EVENTS

Who, What, When & Where: Know your audience. Hear from a seasoned veteran in producing live events, who consults and performs operations management annually around the world to many festivals and companies including Coachella, Stagecoach, BottleRock, Thunder on the Ohil and the World’s largest grossing multi-day event, Desert Trip.

Carol Riley, Olympia Harbor Days; Chris Moore, Executive Director, Washington Trust Chris Moore is the local coordinating entity for the newly designated Maritime Washington National Heritage Area

NON SPONSORSHIP REVENUE

PARKS AND RECREATION EVENTS

Bruce Skinner, Washington Festivals and Events Association

Mark Hendrickson, Kent Parks and Recreation Department; Chuck Denney, Tumwater Parks and Recreation

As the former CEO of the International Festivals and Events Association, Bruce Skinner got to know many of the world’s top event organizers and was often the first person to hear about their new ideas. He’ll present the ones that will help your bottom line.

HOW TO PRODUCE AN AMAZING LIVE EVENT THAT MAKES EVERYBODY TALK David Doxtater, The Workshop

Live events exist in the marketing space, and are a blend of creativity that touch both the physical and digital world (often referred to as “experiential marketing.”) Behind every delectable bite of finger food and every stunning electrical display, there is thought, creativity and ingenuity happening on the back end to pull it all together. The leader of The Workshop will explain what goes into making an event a great one that makes everybody talk.

(REQUIRES SEPARATE REGISTRATION) *THESE PRE-CONFERENCE SESSIONS WILL QUALIFY FOR CERTIFIED LIVE EVENT PLANNER (CLEP) CREDIT

CULTURAL EVENTS Putter Bert, President/CEO of KidsQuest Children's Museum

MUSIC Jon Stone, CEA Partners

VENDOR AND SUPPLIERS Eddie Redman, Grand Event Rentals, Tim Medved, U-Cool

ASSET David Doxtater, The Workshop

MONETIZING YOUR TICKETING SYSTEM Ryan Kitz, Afton, LLC & Afton Tickets, Inc.

WORKING WITH VENDORS Scott Nagel, Dungeness Crab and Seafood Festival

4:00 - 5:45 PM OPENING SESSION AND TRADE SHOW 8:00 - 11:00 PM HOSPITALITY SUITE SPONSORED BY WESTERN DISPLAY FIREWORKS

Continue learning and networking with some of the industry’s leading experts. WFEA board members will be available to answer any questions that you might have.

MARCH 24-26, 2020 RED LION HOTEL IN BELLEVUE, WA: REGISTER AT WFEA.ORG

WFEA ANNUAL CONFERENCE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2020 8:00 – 9:00 AM OPENING KEYNOTE: DEAL OR NO DEAL: FINDING SOLUTIONS WHEN PROBLEMS ARISE

PROGRAMMING THE FUTURE WATERFRONT PARK WITH CULTURAL AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES Heidi Hughes, Friends of the Waterfront

Heidi Hughes, Executive Director of Friends of Waterfront Seattle, the City's nonprofit partner helping to help build the park and Finding Solutions When Problems Arise: It is easier to come up with operate the future public spaces in partnership with Seattle Parks & a plan to address a major issue when you’re not on a media Recreation, will discuss how the future park will be a year round deadline, your cell phone is not ringing and people aren’t staring at gathering place for Seattle and the region. Like other signature parks you! Hear some real life examples of when one of America’s largest around the country, Seattle’s future Waterfront Park will be a civic celebrations got it right (and sometimes wrong!) and learn how platform for community programming and a variety of cultural, a little preparation can make life easier in a crisis. educational and recreational activities.

Mike Berry, Secretary of Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet

9:00 – 10:00 AM PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS THE FUTURE OF SPONSORSHIP

MARKETING TO MILLENIALS

Paula Beadle, Caravel Marketing

MAXIMIZING YOUR FOOD AND BEVERAGE PROFITS

Paula Beadle, a results-driven leader, will share industry trends and best practices in the areas of sponsorship sales, valuation, activation, and emerging categories. She has an established record of increasing revenue and improving performance for organizations including Seafair, Seattle Center, Special Olympics, University of Washington and the Washington State Fair.

Shelby De Lappe, Trudi Webster, Festivals, Inc.

MANAGING TECHNOLOGY Eric Corning, Seattle Seafair

Special events large and small can often utilize similar best practices to ensure a successful event. Take a look at traditional best practices and how technology can help and hinder your efforts to organize events.

BUILDING A BETTER FESTIVAL – WASTE AUDIT STRATEGIES TO IDENTIFY FUTURE PROGRESS Meg Johnson, Waste Connections of Washington

The annual Recycled Arts Festival is one of the largest public gatherings in Clark County, WA. As a method to further their waste reductions goals, a waste audit was performed on all solid waste generated from the two-day festival. Methods of collection and source separation will be discussed as well as the importance of partnership across vendors, volunteers, organizers, and festival goers. With thousands of people joining The Recycled Arts Festival with “going green” on the mind, there are just a few more steps that can be recognized to reduce and reuse on a broader scale to make this festival going experience even better.*

Jason Lajeunesse, Capitol Hill Block Party

The increased number of food and beverage events in the region creates an ongoing increased level of competition that currently challenges all major festivals and events to step up their game. Join Trudi Webster (Media Director) and Shelby De Lappe (Vendor Relations Manager) to hear how the combination of strong vendor relationships, social media delivery, new concepts, and staying on top of current trends, can assist to maximize food and beverage profits.

11:30 AM – 1:30 PM NETWORK SUPPLIER LUNCH BUILDING CONNECTIONS – EXPO SPEED DATING Discover the latest trends in our industry with many top event suppliers and producers. Each table at the lunch will be hosted by a vendor/exhibitor, who will distribute material sand discuss the merits of their product with fellow table members. During the four course lunch, each table will be visited by 12 different suppliers, who will discuss 12 different topics.

10:15 – 11:15 AM PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS LET’S MAKE A DEAL Mike Berry, Kentucky Derby Festival

Just like the popular game show, sponsorship activation can be a game of negotiation, strategy and choices. Should you keep providing the benefits you offer to a sponsor or entice them to trade for what’s behind Door Number Two?

MARCH 24-26, 2020 RED LION HOTEL IN BELLEVUE, WA: REGISTER AT WFEA.ORG

WFEA ANNUAL CONFERENCE 1:45 – 2:45 PM PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS HOW TO MAKE SOMETHING FROM NOTHING

THE IMPORTANCE OF BOARD GOVERNANCE RE-BOARDING: UNLOCKING THE POWERS OF ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE

George Sharp, Thurston Economic Development Council

Andy Fife, Cultural Policy & Strategy Specialist

Whatever the shape or size of your organization, there is likely some group that comes together to make big decisions and set policy.

Lisa Samuelson, Erika Olsen, Winthrop Rhythm and Blues Festival Whether they are a board of directors, board of trustees, an ownership group, an advisory council or otherwise, odds are they WHAT BRANDS ARE LOOKING FOR IN A SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP aren’t optimized. And however glaring the need for change, it is Kristi Ellefson, Delta Dental never quite obvious just how to pursue it. In this session by Seattle Learn what sponsors are looking for from the first approach to the consultant Andy Fife, we will talk about the peculiar challenges and final recap report from the senior manager for public relations and opportunities of a board, how to build consensus around the areas brand of Delta Dental. of greatest need, and how to go about making lasting positive change.

LOW COST ECONOMIC IMPACT REPORTS 4:15 – 5:00 PM Scott Nagel, Dungeness Crab and Seafood Festival, Port Angeles PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS The need for information about the economic impact and SO YOU WANT TO PUT ON A FESTIVAL – HOW MUCH CAN YOU demographics of the audiences of festivals and events has never AFFORD TO LOSE? been greater. Festival management is serious business, but Ken Deans, COO, Flaregun sometimes it’s difficult to persuade government, sponsors, and Building a festival is a long term investment – you need a very long business that a festival contributes to the economic vitality of your runway, and nerves of steel. Often the ride isn’t easy. Hear from a community. Learn the basics of economic impact and demographic seasoned veteran in producing live events who has played a big part studies, what they do for your organization, and how this can in the management operations for Coachella, one of the largest answer those LTAC grant questions required by the State. festivals in the world. He’ll take you through a step-by-step journey through the logistics of the evolution of the world’s most recognized 3:00 – 4:00 PM music festival. Ken was also part of the management team that PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS brought musical artists Men at Work, The Split Enz,, and the Divynals TOURISM AND EVENTS to the forefront of the U.S. music scene, and a partner of the group Amy McGuffin, Kittitas Chamber of Commerce, Britnee Christen, National responsible for the explosion of the Seattle music scene, including Lentil Festival, Pullman Alice in Chains, Mother Love Bone, Nirvana, Pearl Jam and The Kittitas Chamber of Commerce is very successful at coordinating Soundgarden. small to large events in Central Washington. The use of lodging tax funding has been a driving force to implement the operations and 5:45 PM promotions of events. Learn how you can adapt their ideas to your WFEA RECOGNITION DINNER area.

Help us recognize the WORKING WITH THE MEDIA

best of our industry, as welcome new Ralph Morton, Seattle Sports Commission inductees into the Seattle is experiencing a true sports renaissance, with an WFEA Hall of Fame, opportunity to seize the world’s stage in hosting impactful events in the State’s Volunteer the coming decade. Be a part of seizing the momentum and of the Year, and the elevating Seattle’s sports and event industry, because the region has winners of the to lean in to make it happen.

Summit Awards, which embodies the CREATING FINANCIAL NARRATIVE best of the festival Jon Stone, CEA Partners; Susan Den Every report begins as a unique story in draft form, yet we tend not and events industry. to think about our financial documents in narrative terms. How you 8:00 - 11:00 PM populate and present your numbers determines the nature of the HOSPITALITY SUITE story and influences the perception of the recipient. Session Sponsored by Western Display Fireworks components include: Continue learning and networking with some of the industry’s How to read a financial statement leading experts. WFEA board members will be available to answer How to refine a chart of accounts any questions that you might have.

Meaningful forecasting made easy PLANNING FOR SEATTLE’S FUTURE MAJOR EVENTS

MARCH 24-26, 2020 RED LION HOTEL IN BELLEVUE, WA: REGISTER AT WFEA.ORG

WFEA ANNUAL CONFERENCE THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2020 8:30 – 9:30 AM PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS DISASTER MANAGEMENT PART 1 OF 2: Continued in Next Session Robert Mitchell, Director of Community Disaster Medicine, Liz Purdy, Bellingham Seafest Event Coordinator; Lynn Sterbenz, City of Bellingham Emergency Manager.

Collaborative Disaster Response for Festivals and Events: In light of the Active Violence Events in Las Vegas and Gilroy, we'll take a look at how we embraced the disaster planning process from the ground up using Bellingham SeaFeast 2019 as a case study. Join us as we outline the [who, what, why, when, where and how for] building blocks to create a plan.

BUILDING A COMMUNICATIONS PLAN John Thorburn, Boldhat Productions

The success of every event hinges on an effective plan to attract guests or ticket buyers. Learn how to develop a comprehensive marketing and communications plan and build your own playbook to increase engagement and grow attendance.

LOOKING AT COMPANIES AS PARTNERS INSTEAD OF “SPONSORS” Melissa Jurcan, CSEP – Director of Marketing + Experience, Compass Group

It can never be stressed enough that event organizers need to look through the eyes of the sponsors, and that we need to look first at achieving their goals. Many event organizers still enter meetings wanting to strictly to fund their events, and overlook this all important step.

ASK THE EXPERTS Bruce Skinner, WFEA Executive Director; David Doxtater, the Workshop

Share experiences with indoor vs outdoor vending, booth fees vs commissions, add-ons and other offerings. What are your expectations, communication and setup challenges, and overnight security issues? Should WFEA be supporting a members only active list of booth vendors used and recommended by current members only?

PERFECTING YOUR PROPERTY'S ELEVATOR PITCH Andrew Scott, Manager of Business Development, Seattle Dragons

Sports properties are the producers of some of the best events that go along with their product on the playing field. Learn how you can perfect the elevator/sales pitch for your property through compelling storytelling, content and data when considering prospects in the discovery phase. Also discover how the XFL is remembering its past, reimagining its future.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT PART 2 OF 2: Continued From Previous Session Robert Mitchell, Director of Community Disaster Medicne, Liz Purdy, Bellingham Seafest Event Coordinator; Lynn Sterbenz, City of Bellingham Emergency Manager.

11:00 AM – 1:00 PM CLOSING KEYNOTE “ACTIVE ASSAILANT” TRAINING City of Seattle Police Department

It saddens us that training sessions like this are a necessary part of doing business, and hope you never need to use these skills.

However, preparing now could save lives. In the wake of the Gilroy Garlic Festival incident, we present this training without conflicting programming as WFEA believes this is so important that every member should attend. The Seattle Police Department presents a leading edge session which will outline strategies and cover best practices to help all individuals working at festivals and events of any size. Attendees will learn how to protect themselves, their staff, and their patrons from potentially deadly acts of gun violence.

9:45 – 10:45 AM PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS POWERING AN EVENT THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA Joshua Dircks

The last 10 years have seen a seismic shift in how consumers receive their news and information. This change has left many legacy events and brands flatfooted and struggling to find answers. However, this shift is actually a massive opportunity for the experiential marketing world which includes events and festivals. Join us for an interactive learning session about the best practices for harnessing the power of social media for your event and festival.

HOW TO WORK WITH VENDORS Carol Riley, Harbor Days, Olympia

There are many types of booth vendors and exhibitors – Arts & Crafts, Commercial, Food, and Non-Profit for most festivals and many events. How do you find new vendors? What is the best assortment and layout? What are the pros and cons of a juried vs non-juried selection process? What is your registration process?

MARCH 24-26, 2020 RED LION HOTEL IN BELLEVUE, WA: REGISTER AT WFEA.ORG

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