ShowFest Event Innovators Conference

ShowFest Agenda

SUPERSPREADER FESTIVALS AND HOW TO AVOID THEM Just over a year into the pandemic, and as we wait anxiously for our turn at a vaccine, everyone knows what to do: social distancing, face covering, and hand washing. Yet the risk of infection at any mass gathering is still very high. In this session, we will discuss practical ways – including messaging, security, training, and funny hats – to keep your event from turning into a superspreader. BIO: Steven A. Adelman is head of Adelman Law Group, PLLC in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, and Vice President of the Event Safety Alliance. His practice focuses on risk and safety at live events throughout North America, and he serves as an expert witness in crowd-related lawsuits. Steve Adelman is principal author of the authoritative Crowd Management standard, ANSI ES1.9-2020, and lead author of the Event Safety Alliance Reopening Guide, which has been translated into nearly a dozen languages. He is a law professor, author of the “Adelman on Venues” blog, and he recently has served as health and safety director for a series of live events across the United States.

CREATING AND SELLING ACTIVATIONS THAT SPONSORS LOVE Creating and Selling Activations that Sponsors Love! Feel like your event is doing the same thing over and over for sponsorships? Wondering how you can land sponsors with bigger budgets? In this session Teresa Stas, Author and Director of Green Cactus sponsorship agency will break down how to develop enticing activations for sponsors and show case studies of successful activations. Teresa’s Bio: Teresa Stas is a national speaker, author, and CEO of Green Cactus, an event sponsorship and marketing agency based in Fresno, CA, and Portland, OR. She was named one of 2019’s “20 on the Rise Event Professionals” by Honeybook and RisingTideSociety.com. Teresa has brokered millions of dollars in sponsorships with national brands such as Toyota, Crown Royal, Safeway/Albertsons and White Claw. She currently handles partnerships for several events along the west coast such as the national relay Hood to Coast, the Oregon State Fair, Country Fan Fest and the nationally recognized Gilroy Garlic Festival. Teresa is an Oregon State University graduate and holds a Sports Marketing Certification from Columbia University. She is the author of the Sell Your Event! The Easy to Follow Practical Guide to Getting Sponsors and writes the column “Small Event, Big Sponsors” for IFEA’s “ie” magazine, and her online course SellSponsorships.com has been used in the coursework at Florida International University and Troy University.

Elizabeth (Liz) H. Parham, CMSM Director, NC Main Street & Rural Planning Center Liz Parham has worked for more than 33 years in the field of downtown revitalization and rural economic development. She serves as the director of the NC Main Street & Rural Planning Center at the North Carolina Department of Commerce, where she manages the North Carolina Main Street, Small Town Main Street and the Downtown Associate Community programs, Rural Planning, Main Street Solutions Fund, and local capacity building initiatives. Prior to her current position, she worked for downtown revitalization nonprofit organizations in Sumter, South Carolina, and in Chapel Hill, Greensboro, Lenoir and Lexington, North Carolina. Liz has a passion for downtown commercial architecture, small businesses and the assets of rural North Carolina.

Nate McGaha has served as the Executive Director of Arts North Carolina, the statewide advocacy organization for the arts, since 2017 where he works for public funding and policy for the arts and arts education. He helped to create the Joint Caucus on Arts and Arts Education at the NC General Assembly, shepherded the NC Arts High School Graduation Requirement into law, and has led several statewide initiatives for relief, reopening, and recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to his work in advocacy, Nate was the Executive Director of Carolina Ballet in Raleigh for five years with Artistic Director Robert Weiss. Before coming to the Raleigh area he was the Director of Operations at Charlotte Ballet under the Artistic Direction of Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride for seven years after serving as that company’s Resident Lighting Designer since 1996. Nate was also the Production Manager and Lighting Designer for the Chautauqua Ballet Company in the summer months from 1997 through 2009 and toured internationally with Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson’s Complexions Dance Company. He is a graduate of UNC School of the Arts where he received a BFA in Design and Production with concentration in Lighting Design.

Sharon served as Morganton’s Main Street Director for 30 years as well as the Director of the HMF, Inc. which produces Friday night concerts and a large outdoor festival in September. In October of 2020, Sharon was promoted to Director of Cultural and Creative Development, which added an oversight of an 1100 seat City of Morganton Municipal Auditorium. All of this has led her to have a broader view of the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic, not only shutting down all outdoor events, but dealing with an empty auditorium. Sharon recently participated in the APAP/New York conference (Association of Performing Arts Professionals) where she was able to listen to a presentation from Dr. Fauci about the return of the performing arts in 2021 as well as participate in several different talks of how we bring back festivals and performances.

Joy Ennis has been an arts administrator for 18 years with the Town of Cary. Much of that time was spent as the Festivals Coordinator for the Town’s art festivals. In 2014, she made the move to open The Cary Theater and for the last six years has shepherded the growth of Cary’s only art house cinema. Early this year, Joy was tapped to take on the challenge of opening the new Downtown Cary Park. She’s thrilled to combine her years of outdoor and indoor events and facility experience to help bring this new park to life.

Eventeny Founder Nausheen Punjani is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Eventeny. After graduating from Boston University with a master's in Biostatistics, she gained 8+ years of experience in sales management and statistical analysis. She also has backend development and UI/UX experience. Prior to founding Eventeny, she worked for American Cancer Society, Piedmont Hospital, and various CDC projects.

As Chief Creative Officer & Senior Vice President of Events, Krumbine is responsible for the 24/7/365 animation & marketing of Charlotte’s Center City. This is accomplished through a series of programs and events including the annual Vision Awards, Soul Junction, Uptown Crawl, Holidays in the City, and Art & Soul of SouthEnd. Robert and his team also cooperatively manage the production of several long-time events including the ACC Championship Fanfest and Mec Dec Day. In addition to leading the Marketing and Events team, Krumbine serves on the board of the Center City Community Trust a solely owned subsidiary of Charlotte Center City Partners and the producing entity for CLT New Year’s Eve and the award-winning Novant Health Thanksgiving Day Parade. Prior to his position at CCCP, Krumbine produced Charlotte Center CityFest and Uptown Scream for ARK Management. In addition, he held the position of Senior Entertainment Producer at Paramount Parks, Inc., where he was responsible for major in and out of park events like Titanic the Movie on Tour, the 1997 AAU Junior Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies, the First Union Bank Annual Meeting, and Star Trek World Tour in Düsseldorf, Germany. Robert was also responsible for the hiring and training of staff and characters for the opening of Star Trek, The Experience in the Las Vegas Hilton. From 1990 – 1996 Krumbine owned and operated Robert Krumbine Productions, Inc., creating and producing many major public events including the original Speed Street, NCAA Final Four Street of Champions (which won two GALA awards), and the grand openings of both the Charlotte Convention Center and the Bank of America Stadium. During this period, Robert worked closely with several corporate clients to produce effective business theater, sales meetings, and new product introductions.

Alison Baringer English is the Executive Director of the North Carolina Azalea Festival. She has been with the Festival since her graduation from UNC-Wilmington in 2004 and has been a key leader in the Festival’s strategic growth over the past fifteen years. Her love of large, community events began in childhood, where she attended the Professional Football Hall of Fame festivities in her hometown of Canton, Ohio every year with family and friends. In addition to helping the Wilmington community through her career at the Azalea Festival, Alison is an active volunteer with other non-profits and leadership programs. She is a Leadership Wilmington graduate of 2013 and was President of the Junior League of Wilmington in 2014-2015. Alison has attended numerous international training conferences through both the International Festivals and Events Association and the Association of Junior Leagues International, where she has received extensive training in volunteer management, events production, sponsorship activations, and board management. In 2019, Alison was selected into the inaugural class of the WilmingtonBiz 100, an initiative of the Greater Wilmington Business Journal to recognize the top power players, influencers, innovators, and connectors in the region. The Star News selected Alison as a Top 40 Under 40 business leader in 2020. Alison currently serves on the International Festival and Events Association (IFEA) Foundation Board as Chair-Elect and the UNC-Wilmington Alumni Board on the Executive Committee in the role of Secretary. Started with the Azalea Festival in July 2005 Became ED in Jan 2015

Vivian Koontz, CFAE, is the events coordinator for the Salisbury Parks and Recreation Department. Her primary responsibility is the management of more than 30 annual recreation events for the City of Salisbury from site selection, budget approval, volunteer registration and post-event evaluation. Over her 15-year tenure with Salisbury, she has been honored by colleagues for her successful event management, professionalism and contributions to recreation industry. Koontz holds a bachelor’s degree in physical education and recreation from Catawba College and is a Certified Festival and Events Associate.

Adam Bell, CFEA Festivals & Events Supervisor, Town of Cary

Hayden Kramer is a graduate of North Carolina State University and is the current Director of Parks and Recreation for the Town of Indian Trail, North Carolina. Indian Trail is a fast growing town minutes away from Charlotte. His department produces 20 plus events during the year that cater to the community. He and his team focus on being a trendsetting agency that transforms lives and creates memorable experiences for all. Finally, Hayden, his wife, daughter and two dogs love to get out and check out other events in the area and when they travel.

President, Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce Chairperson, North Carolina Pickle Festival President, North Carolina Festival & Events Board member, SouthEast Festival & Events Founder, Eastern NC Festival & Events Consortium Board member, NC Coast Host Adjunct Instructor for Parks, Recreation & Leisure, University of Mount Olive World Traveler (50 states, 89 countries, 7 continents)