An Eventful Year

This year, I was planning to work with my Emerson East Neighborhood Association to sponsor our dedication of ‘The People’s Pronouns,’ the sculpture featured in my previous post. The sculpture was installed recently in our newly-named Emerson East Park. It was to be a proud moment for our neighborhood and a fun celebration. Well, as has been true with most events this year (as well as my event planning business)-plans had to change.

Instead of an in-person event, I embarked on a new adventure to help our association create a special edition booklet intended to feel like its own “event.” The booklet contains coloring pages featuring outline images of the sculpture developed by the Madison Arts Commission, as well as a special message from artist Ray Chi. The booklet includes additional timely resources we collected from around the neighborhood that would compliment the inclusive and engaging message of The People’s Pronouns. With help from a City of Madison Neighborhood Grant, we also used the opportunity to encourage new membership and solicit feedback with a neighborhood issues survey. In spite our disappointment in cancelling our event, we successfully managed to create a unique and special moment for the 1200 households in our neighborhood.

As the ability to host people in person further wanes during the winter months, we have an opportunity to expand our thinking about what constitutes an ‘event.’ This is the kind of creative endeavor that requires thinking outside the traditional confines of a single area of expertise. I felt like this unique opportunity for Emerson East had allowed me to use all of the additional skills I have developed over the years to still create something special despite our event cancellation. And if there was ever a time we needed something special to keep our spirits lifted despite event cancellations, this year would be it.

So, while you may not be thinking an event planner is someone you’ll be contacting, perhaps a design-thinker is just the person you should contact when considering your alternatives to an in-person event. I would be delighted to be a resource for you. Stay well and remember to get your flu shot if you can!