Event organizers on P.E.I. begin planning for uncertain 2021

Members of the festivals and events community on P.E.I. are meeting this week to brainstorm ideas on how to overcome COVID-19 challenges in 2021.

Many events were cancelled in 2020, and organizers are hoping the planning sessions can help make 2021 a better year.

"We don't really have answers as to what is going to happen in 2021 so people are worried about what are the guidelines going to be," said Emma MacKenzie, chair of the board of Festivals and Events P.E.I., in an interview with Mainstreet P.E.I. host Matt Rainnie.

MacKenzie said some large festivals, such as the P.E.I. International Shellfish Festival, begin planning a year in advance.

'Lack of planning time'

"I think the worry ... is that especially with a lot of these bigger events, with the lack of planning time since there's so many unknowns going into 2021 they are going to have to be scaled down significantly. And people don't want to affect their brand so people are really looking at how they can continue their brand, but in a reasonable planning time."

People don't want to affect their brand so people are really looking at how they can continue their brand, but in a reasonable planning time. Emma MacKenzie

She said event organizers are also concerned about the extra costs required to adhere to public health measures.

"With all these additional costs, a lot of organizers are worried if their events are even going to be feasible without any additional funding, or is it going to have to be the consumer that's going to have to pay that price."

MacKenzie hopes some of these questions can be answered during the sessions, called Planning Forward: Pivots and Best Practices for the Event Industry.

Free to attend

It will feature keynote speakers as well as workshops. It is free, but participants must register beforehand through the Festivals and Events P.E.I. Facebook page.

The first session is Wednesday at 9 a.m. at the College of Piping in Summerside. The other session, which also includes a virtual option, is Friday at 9 a.m. at Florence Simmons Hall at Holland College in Charlottetown.

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