Special Events

SPECIAL EVENTS REPORT TO BOARD – March 2021

FOLK PROJECT ONLINE

Gary Pratt

GENERAL:

Online concerts, parties and workshops are well-attended and fulfilling their missions. The Valentine’s Day Extravaganza had about 120 people in attendance. The show and the audience participation captured the spirit of our in-person shows. Thanks to Todd Dennison for presenting the show and to our MC Couple, Andrew Dunn and Angela Mitchell.

I attended the Folk Alliance International virtual conference and participated in several panel discussions and peer sessions. The Stayaway continues to be a premier web broadcaster of folk and Americana concerts in the U.S.A.. Artists and agents are impressed and pleased with our comparative attendance and financial returns.

We continue to hear from online performers that our team is well-organized and professional. In addition, performers continue to comment that Stayaway is the best name they’ve heard for an online program.

In March we booked Abby Posner, Amelia White, Jesse Ruben, The Folk Project Open Stage, The Sweet Lillies, Kypin Martin, Emma’s Revolution, May Erlewine, and Jenner Fox.

PAST CONCERTS ONLINE:

Thanks to Kathi Caccavale for leading the charge on making past concerts available. The outreach to performers for permission to present past concerts received a great response. The donation systems and payments for a past concert are the same as the original broadcasts - donations go entirely and directly to the performers. As outlined before: Because the artists own all the material on each broadcast, there are no royalty issues.

OPEN STAGE:

The Folk Project Open Stage returns to the second Friday of every month. Chair Todd Dennison will be leading that Zoom effort every month. The main mission is the longstanding Project commitment to member performance. From a strategic and publicity standpoint, we want to reestablish the second Friday of each month in people’s minds both now and when live shows begin.

PLANS FOR MAY:

Booking of Friday Stayaway Concerts in May are being coordinated with Special Concerts chairman, Mark. Read below.

SPECIAL CONCERTS

Mark Schaffer

The Special Events chair, Mark, is finding local, vaccinated performers for Stayaway online concerts on Fridays in May. If before May 6th the board approves safety guidelines for attendance at a house concert, an audience will be invited to attend the Stayaway concert according to those board-approved safety guidelines. If the board hasn’t approved such guidelines, the broadcast will go forward as a typical Stayaway concert without an audience.

No motion is being offered at this time because of the developing situation and availability of research.

The Stayaway Chair, Gary, is in charge of all broadcasting decisions. The Special Events Chair, Mark, will be in charge of all onsite, audience, and ticketing issues if an audience is permitted. Gary will handle the contracts.

YOUTUBE CHANNEL REPORT

Joe Guzzo

· We have 234 subscribers as of the end of this month. That’s a gain of 2 subscribers in the last month.

· The channel got 102 views, which is lower than typical for a month.

· Watch time was 14.78 hours, which is also lower than typical.

· We had ten views in the last 48 hours.

· Please note that overall views are down considerably as there were no shows with new interviews and music.

To give you some added focus on the last bullet point, our most-watched shows are those containing new interviews and performances. Since there were none in February, you can see the resulting drop in views.

I do not have any interviews planned for upcoming shows. If anyone has ideas and suggestions or can make introductions, I would chase down the leads.

OLD BUSINESS

· Many suggestions have been forwarded regarding how we might use the MUF facilities to record shows.

· All possibilities hinge on staffing with only those who have already been vaccinated and having them tested before the recording sessions.

· Since there is no easy path to obtaining the quick tests, I would like to table this discussion. My reasons are attached below.

o Testing is available, but I haven’t found any available quick tests.

o Most insurance plans, Medicare and Medicaid, cover the regular tests, but those are not instant.

o Without quick testing, there is no way to guarantee safe conditions.