Event industry across Phoenix metropolitan area begins to churn anew amid pandemic
From Scottsdale events to concert venues promotions begin to sprout
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A Careful, Thoughtful and Sanitary Approach
Every event has to have a public safety plan for that, so we have an application online on our tourism page on the city’s website that you have to complete if you’re applying to actually have an event at a facility or private space in the city of Scottsdale”
When places of public gathering were shut down at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, events were canceled or rescheduled for later dates.
Fast forward to today and some events in the coming weeks are pushing forward with in-person gatherings with safety guidelines, while others continue to reschedule for later times in hopes of better virus metrics --- numbers illustrating fewer cases and fewer deaths.
For example, the Long Island Medium, Theresa Caputo, recently made her way to Scottsdale as part of her national tour to connect and help her fans at different resorts. The shows sold out for the first weekend and another date for Scottsdale has been added for Feb. 27.
Precautions such as “enhanced health and safety protocols including outdoor physically-distanced pod seating, temperature checks and mandatory face coverings for all attendees will be maintained to ensure the highest standard of safety for our guests,” according to the tour’s press release regarding the shows.
In-person events initially came to a halt when the pandemic began to take its toll but in Scottsdale, events endured with the additional need for rigorous safety plans, as explained by Karen Churchard, director of tourism and events at the city of Scottsdale.
“We have continued doing events throughout the whole pandemic,” she said.
Ms. Churchard went on to explain events approved by the city are not always city-organized and instead managed by third-party event producers that work with the city to make sure public event gatherings are in-line with proper safety protocols.
“Every event has to have a public safety plan for that, so we have an application online on our tourism page on the city’s website that you have to complete if you’re applying to actually have an event at a facility or private space in the city of Scottsdale,” Ms. Churchard said.
These public safety plans are mandated by the governor’s executive order for cities in the states to create them and make them publicly available for each public gathering of over 50 people in a city.
“We’re required to make sure that it’s implemented and that it be posted online, so we’re continuing to do that,” Ms. Churchard said.
Along with police and fire risk management officials, city staff overlooks these applications to make sure accurate safety policies will be in practice, including required masks when not actively eating or drinking, a six-foot spacing between people and hand sanitizer stations.
Although concerns for public safety remain, those in attendance have produced a positive response to the city’s efforts to continue engaging communities safely.
“We definitely received, I think, more favorable feedback from the community and people that have participated thanking us for letting [them] participate,” Ms. Churchard said.
She said that the city has heard from residents that would prefer the city to host no events but more largely people have been responsive to in-person events.
Most recently, Ms. Churchard’s department was responsible for the Scottsdazzle Stroll, an event on the banks of the Arizona Canal to gather residents during the holiday season, which was organized to supplement the usual Scottsdazzle Sing-along and Tree-Lighting event.
“Recognizing that was not an ideal event during COVID, we actually reimagined the entire event and we just basically did a completely different event,” she said.
Instead of the customary tree-lighting event, the department organized the stroll to allow visitors to maintain a safe distance from other people, keeping people’s safety in mind while celebrating the holiday festivities with living statues and a live band.
What could the future hold?
The future of events returning to normal is uncertain, but Ms. Churchard guesses that hopefully next year will show relief for the events industry.
Others in the event industry have found different ways to pivot from the difficulty found with gathering in large numbers. Danny Zelisko, a long-time concert promoter and entertainment industry veteran, has spent the time working on his book, All Excess Occupation: Concert Promoter.
“We’ve been working on that for the last almost 12 months and I got it out in the fall,” Mr. Zelisko said. Not enthused by the concept of online concerts, he has spent the time focusing on his memoir and setting up the foundations for music scholarships that he plans on funding by selling his memorabilia.
“This is about getting paid back for holding onto history, and now sharing it with people and then as I’m going along, I’m setting money aside, so that I can do the scholarship thing,” Mr. Zelisko said.
As an expert in the industry, he has felt for his fellow industry companions who have struggled to find work after being employed in areas of work such as production and lighting pre-pandemic.
“They need to be able to group together, working together and making shows and great events for people to come to,” Mr. Zelisko said. “I’m sorry to say I feel like nothings going on.”
He further expressed his sympathy for those working on ending the pandemic but urged that people, specifically in the rock and event industries, need to get vaccinated to bring about the resurgence of in-person concerts.
“There are these guys out there, these production gods, who are the ones that know every stadium and every arena in the world, and they could set up a [vaccine] distribution system so fast it would make your head spin,” he said.
Mr. Zelisko holds much faith in the music and concert industries and is hopeful for their return in the future.
After a year of pushing events, he has several shows lined up for later this year on his website starting in May including artists like Pitbull, which has unfortunately been rescheduled for the following May due to public health concerns.
For concerts that have been pushed, around 80% of people have held onto their tickets for the rescheduled shows which shows hope for not only concert promoters like him but for the general health of the concert industry according to Mr. Zelisko.
“I think when we come back, it’ll be normal,” he said. “It’ll feel normal when those guys get on stage and those lights go down and you’re going crazy, but I think at least at the beginning of it, people are going to still be maintaining some safety precautions.”
Meet Caroline Caroline Yu joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2020 as a summer intern covering Scottsdale. As an intern, she continued her coverage of Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Tempe. After graduating in 2022, Caroline became a full-time reporter for Scottsdale and Paradise Valley. She is currently reporting for the Tempe market.
Community: She is a supporter of the environment and tries to get involved with related community events.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications, with a minor in French.
Random Fact: She used to be a ballet dancer for 10 years.
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