Wednesday, March 25, 2020

8:00 – 9:00 AM

Opening Keynote

Deal or No Deal: Finding Solutions When Problems Arise

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

Finding Solutions When Problems Arise: It is easier to come up with a plan to address a major issue when you’re not on a media deadline, your cell phone is not ringing and people aren’t staring at you! Hear some real life examples of when one of America’s largest civic celebrations got it right (and sometimes wrong!) and learn how a little preparation can make life easier in a crisis.

9:00 – 10:00 AM

Professional Development Sessions

The Future of Sponsorship

Paula Beadle, Caravel Marketing

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.

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.*

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?

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 operate the future public spaces in partnership with Seattle Parks & Recreation, will discuss how the future park will be a year round gathering place for Seattle and the region. Like other signature parks around the country, Seattle’s future Waterfront Park will be a platform for community programming and a variety of cultural, educational and recreational activities.

Marketing to Millenials

Jason Lajeunesse, Capitol Hill Block Party

Maximizing Your Food and Beverage Profits

Shelby De Lappe, Trudi Webster, Festivals, Inc.

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.

1:45 – 2:45 PM

Professional Development Sessions

How to Make Something From Nothing

George Sharp, Thurston Economic Development Council

Working with the Media

Lisa Samuelson, Erika Olsen, Winthrop Rhythm and Blues Festival

What Brands Are Looking for in a Successful Partnership

Kristi Ellefson, Delta Dental

Learn what sponsors are looking for from the first approach to the final recap report from the senior manager for public relations and brand of Delta Dental.

Low Cost Economic Impact Reports

Scott Nagel, Dungeness Crab and Seafood Festival, Port Angeles

The need for information about the economic impact and demographics of the audiences of festivals and events has never been greater. Festival management is serious business, but sometimes it’s difficult to persuade government, sponsors, and business that a festival contributes to the economic vitality of your community. Learn the basics of economic impact and demographic studies, what they do for your organization, and how this can answer those LTAC grant questions required by the State.

3:00 – 4:00 PM

Professional Development Sessions

TOURISM AND EVENTS

Amy McGuffin, Kittitas Chamber of Commerce, Britnee Christian, National Lentil Festival, Pullman

The Kittitas Chamber of Commerce is very successful at coordinating small to large events in Central Washington. The use of lodging tax funding has been a driving force to implement the operations and promotions of events. Learn how you can adapt their ideas to your area.

Planning for Seattle’s Future Major Events

Ralph Morton, Seattle Sports Commission

Seattle is experiencing a true sports renaissance, with an opportunity to seize the world’s stage in hosting impactful events in the coming decade. Be a part of seizing the momentum and elevating Seattle’s sports and event industry, because the region has to lean in to make it happen.

CREATING FINANCIAL NARRATIVE

Jon Stone, CEA Partners; Susan Den

Every report begins as a unique story in draft form, yet we tend not to think about our financial documents in narrative terms. How you populate and present your numbers determines the nature of the story and influences the perception of the recipient. Session components include:

• How to read a financial statement
• How to refine a chart of accounts
• Meaningful forecasting made easy

THE IMPORTANCE OF BOARD GOVERNANCE

RE-BOARDING: UNLOCKING THE POWERS OF ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE

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. Whether they are a board of directors, board of trustees, an ownership group, an advisory council or otherwise, odds are they aren’t optimized. And however glaring the need for change, it is never quite obvious just how to pursue it. In this session by Seattle consultant Andy Fife, we will talk about the peculiar challenges and opportunities of a board, how to build consensus around the areas of greatest need, and how to go about making lasting positive change.

4:15 – 5:00 PM

Professional Development Sessions

So You Want to Put on a Festival – How Much Can You Afford to Lose?

Ken Deans, COO, Flaregun

Building a festival is a long term investment – you need a very long runway, and nerves of steel. Often the ride isn’t easy. Hear from a seasoned veteran in producing live events who has played a big part in the management operations for Coachella, one of the largest 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 music festival. Ken was also part of the management team that brought musical artists Men at Work, The Split Enz,, and the Divynals to the forefront of the U.S. music scene, and a partner of the group responsible for the explosion of the Seattle music scene, including Alice in Chains, Mother Love Bone, Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.

5:45 PM

wfea rECOGNITION dINNER

Help us recognize the best of our industry, as welcome new inductees into the WFEA Hall of Fame, the State’s Volunteer of the Year, and the winners of the Summit Awards, which embodies the best of the festival and events industry.

Interested in more info on the Summit Awards? Click Here

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.

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

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? 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.

REGISTER: 2020 WFEA ANNUAL CONFERENCE