FIRST TAKE
WE ' RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER
VISIBILITY & SUPPORT FOR THE LIVE EVENT COMMUNITY
By Rob Duncan & Morgan Myler
For this issue , we ’ re handing over this page to Rob Duncan and Morgan Myler , the co-founders of Live Event Community . They were the driving force behind # LightUpLive , a day of visibility to support the countless concert and live events professionals in Canada whose livelihoods are in jeopardy because of the COVID-19 pandemic . Learn more at www . lightuplive . ca and www . liveeventcommunity . org .
We with all of our colleagues
launched Live Event Community in March 2020 to share resources
who found themselves out of work – real information they could use to get government support , apply for health services , and find training opportunities .
We soon realized we needed an industry event that would remind the public ( and ourselves ) of our favourite live events and the people who make them – an event that would bring us together in a meaningful – and safe – way . So , on August 18 th , we publicly launched the idea for a national Day of Visibility for the Live Event Community , and the starter ’ s pistol went off .
The similar U . S . event , # WeMakeEvents , on September 1 st gave us a great opportunity to show support for our American counterparts and “ test run ” Canadian interest . Leveraging industry contacts and reaching out to supportive organizations like the Canadian Institute for Theatre Technology ( CITT / ICTS ), Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts ( TAPA ), Actsafe BC , Event Safety Alliance Canada , and IATSE buoyed our belief that we might be onto something important .
It was literally working communications around the clock – many phone calls and a few personal favours to create regional teams and get people actively interested . Slowly and surely , this grassroots message for # LightUpLive / # EclaironsLesScenes ( our hashtag contest winners ) was solidifying , and soon we were engaging a wide swath of the industry .
This was a two-way street . Calgary had started posting these “ I am live event ” selfies , which really hit home the message that actual people were out of work , so we started rolling that out nationally . Toronto ’ s # WeBuildEntertainment helped secure a gobo sponsor for the hashtag contest and also created the artwork . Phenomenal grassroots efforts from all across Canada . In the end , there were 11 regional teams who made it possible for us to focus on the national call to action and media roll-out for our Day of Visibility on September 22 nd .
Not that there weren ’ t technical challenges as well . A key design factor for the website was the interactive map . We needed a self-serve national map ( with photos !) that would track participating buildings in real time and keep event assets in one central location . Though the map caused some technical headaches , it was also our biggest motivator – in the four days before the event , we could log in at any time of day and see 15 new venues ready to drop onto the map . The website launched on September 1 st , and at first , we were manually adding single pins based on commitments we ’ d received , just so the map wasn ’ t empty . We had 425 by the morning of the 20 th and almost 700 by the end , which didn ’ t include private residences and unlisted installations . Each pin on the map also connected us directly to the venue or core team by email , which made sending out communications much easier .
We were in daily contact , but working from different places . We would trade rapidfire updates , then get back to our phone calls , Zoom meetings , and email .
It was becoming clear that we needed access to the newswire , which is not cheap . To date , all our costs have been borne by the two of us , but this was too much . The team at NWC donated time and work to help get the message out . That included writing a national press release , but we needed funding and time marched on . In the few days before the final roll out , Peter Snelgrove and the team at GerrAudio stepped up to donate the funds to get our story onto the wire . We now had national reach to traditional media .
Industry legends Lawrence Gowan , VJ and music producer Michael Williams , and more offered their time and voice and face to the project . These connections helped spread the word in video .
An ambitious plan to roll out one video a day for the last 10 days of the campaign kept Head of Video Production Adin Dell up at night , but he and his team stuck it out , even delivering the final edit for Gowan ’ s “ Moonlight Desires ” performance within minutes of going to air on our livestream on the night of the 22 nd .
When all was said and done , we had 14,000 posts on social media with a unique reach of 16 million . Support from the public , elected officials from all levels of government , and the industry itself helped the live event community to feel like they have not been forgotten . News stories , interviews , and footage of red buildings ran on most national news agencies .
When the 2020 Speech from the Throne was read the following day , the Governor General announced “ further support for industries that have been the hardest hit , including travel and tourism , hospitality , and cultural industries like the performing arts .” We can say we have not been forgotten .
It is tough to look at the current live event landscape and imagine how we can survive with limited capacities , facility restrictions , and increased operating and insurance costs , but it is vital to remember our strengths : we are adaptable , creative , professional , and persistent . Nothing showcased this fact more than this event . For one night , people from all across multiple live event facets stood together as one and coordinated a national event in four-and-a-half weeks . We reached out to the nation to remind Canadians that live events and the people who create them are on hold , waiting until it is safe to gather again .
Indeed , we are all in this together .
Ð CANADIAN MUSICIAN 9