This winter has felt longer, colder, and darker than ever - but spring is upon us and summer’s right around the corner. Vaccinations are growing more available, and just like restrictions in some parts of the country, our moods and spirits are also getting lifted! So, how do we remain grounded while optimistic in the events industry?

The answer is simple: we leverage our background in risk management. We plan, assess, and treat at every stage of the process. But before you consider a huge rock concert this July, here are some other ways you can keep the spirit of summer alive while ensuring safety at your event in 2021!

Keep it Small and Utilize the Outdoors

Start small and let intimate gatherings be your ideal event size. Even though the CDC has recently lifted restrictions that would allow more vaccinated individuals to interact maskless with other vaccinated individuals, we still recommend learning from the past year: keep it small and utilize the great outdoors. Safety first, ladies and gentlemen! 

That being said, utilize the new world of micro-experiences to aid in building a more personalized intimacy to your event. Depending on the size of your guest list and the theme or idea of the event, see how much of a sensory experience you can create with sights, sounds, smells, and more. The options are limitless when you think creatively. 

Make it Safe but Keep Things Light

Look, we’re all tired of masks and the summer is only going to want to make us rip them off even more, but there is a way to keep things a bit lighter while ensuring safety. 

First, establish clear communication upfront about what’s expected of all who will be in attendance. Be sure to communicate how you’re limiting the guest count, what precautions are in place, and what you can expect of your guests. Assigned seating, fun BYOM (Bring your own mask) policies, and hand sanitizer prizes for the most creative safety ideas are small ways to build investment while keeping things safe. Additionally, this leaves no room for a miscommunication error.

Once that’s established, find ways for guests to communicate non-verbally about their comfort with proximity. You can use furniture, plants, or other outdoor items to help remind guests of social distancing. Alexandra Rembac from Sterling Engagements recommends a bracelet color system. As the host or planner, you set the ground rules. For example, “black or red means ‘I’m distancing—see me, but don’t get close to me.’ White or yellow means ‘We can speak six feet apart, but please be careful to stay in your lane!’ Then gold or green means, 'We’re golden; I’m okay with closer interaction,’” Rembac. suggests. Small changes like this make a big difference and allow guests to feel safe without having it be something they’re bombarded with throughout the event.

Learn about the Safest Solutions, Then Learn Some More

If you work in the events world, you know that the rules change, what feels like, every day. Yes, we know it’s stressful, but this is a good thing. It means that our world is growing in our capacity to host large-scale gatherings safely. Your job as an event producer is to stay on top of these changes, learn from your colleagues that are growing in their resourcefulness, and invest in the systems that work.

Here is a short list of the tried-and-true event protocols that we know work:

• Follow the guidelines from your local and federal government, but challenge yourself to go above and beyond that, ensuring safety is the number one priority

• Ensure your cleaning team santizes, cleans, and handles event maintenance before the event begins and long after it’s come to a close

• Use bright colors and markings on floors and streets to encourage social distancing and spaced-out vendors; create a space that allows for touchless technology (ex: gates, etc.)

• Encourage vendor booths to go cashless, allowing paperless transactions; send reminders for vendors to clean their booth surfaces hourly

• Ask all attendees that have been vaccinated to carry a digital marker on their phone to show when they were vaccinated 

• Appoint team members to serve as COVID Enforcement agents, reminding guests of healthy behaviors when at your event

• Add a digital component for virtual attendees. Just because people are hungry for in-person interaction doesn’t mean everyone feels comfortable doing so. Work with an event production company that knows how to leverage virtual event platforms to help bring your audience into your event from any location.

As event producers know better than anyone, this is just the beginning of how to best prepare for a safe summer event. Now, more so than ever, it’s a responsibility we must all take on diligently and continue to learn, grow, and share best practices.

If this feels overwhelming, don’t worry: the risk management experts at Wizard Studios know how to plan, assess, treat, and monitor your event from start to finish. As we like to say, we’ve written the rulebook on safe events in 2021, and if you’re ready to create the kind of gathering our world needs, contact Wizard Studios today!