August 14, 2018: How Five Event-Planning Rookies Organized the First 'Black Panther'-Inspired Fan Convention, Artists and Attendees Are Pushing Music Festivals to Address Sexual Harassment, More Than 300 Injured In Pier Collapse at Festival in Spain

1. HOW FIVE EVENT-PLANNING ROOKIES ORGANIZED THE FIRST 'BLACK PANTHER'-INSPIRED FAN CONVENTION: It's not uncommon for inaugural fan conventions to run into issues, especially when planned by first-time organizers. But five Chicago natives recently launched a successful first-ever Wakandacon—a convention inspired by the Marvel film Black Panther and named after the film's fictional country. Siblings Dave, Ali, and Matt Barthwell, along with friends Taylor Witten and Lisa Beasley, hosted the fan convention August 3-5, attracting some 2,000 fans to the Hilton Downtown Chicago. The Verge: "Proving to their target audience they were legit and not another group of grifters looking to make a dollar off of hungry fans was just the beginning of their expectation management campaign. The website they built for the convention (Dave Barthwell runs web and graphics design business by day) looked so official that organizers say many fans and potential vendors who were aggressively emailing them were surprised to discover the event was being put together by five millennials with day jobs, not a corporate events company. To combat this, and provide further accountability for wary fans, they decided to put their faces on the project, adding bios to the site, creating a video promo, and doing the rounds on local Chicago TV news. As they explained to me, they also chose not to seek out or accept help from organizers with more convention experience; several reached out, but most were white men, and the group needed to maintain both ownership and the integrity of the event’s philosophies at all costs. Those philosophies guided almost every call they made about what kind of event this would be, from the size of the venue (they also considered Chicago tourist destination Navy Pier, which would have allowed for more attendees but cost four times as much as the Hilton) to the money they spent (providing Wi-Fi would have cost $45,000, nearly two-thirds of their initial budget) to the big names they invited to attend. (The most famous people officially scheduled at the convention were Erika Alexander of Living Single and The Cosby Show fame, who came to connect with attendees over her diversity-in-Hollywood nonprofit Keep It Colorful; Mark Willis, a Black Panther stuntman; and two of the film’s concept artists, people who could tell Wakanda’s 'real story.')" https://bit.ly/2Mfw1Fh

2. ARTISTS AND ATTENDEES ARE PUSHING MUSIC FESTIVALS TO ADDRESS SEXUAL HARASSMENT: Sexual harassment is still a widespread problem at music festivals around the world, and more attendees and artists are speaking up and pushing festivals to tackle the issue.  Billboard: “Some festivals are responding to these complaints by training festival staff and volunteers on how to respond to harassment, adding booths or signs with information on where to report sexual violence, and having clearly posted anti-harassment policies. Some artists have spoken out on stage to try to stop groping that they can see in the crowd, including Drake and Sam Carter from the British band The Architects. Pop singer Madison Beer said during one show, she called out a man who was being aggressive to a woman in the crowd. … Some artists are leveraging their platforms by having anti-harassment policies as a part of their tour contract, or even giving fans a way to report harassment directly to the band. Sadie Dupuis, the lead singer of the indie rock band Speedy Ortiz, set up a hotline a couple of years ago for fans to text if they experienced harassment and didn’t know where to turn. She said the most recent example of someone using their hotline was when someone reported that a person in the crowd was using transphobic language and harassing someone. Shawna Potter, of the feminist band War on Women, has created a guidebook about creating safer public spaces after working with many venues in the Baltimore area. She said that she understands that smaller, independent bands don’t always feel like they have the authority to insist that venues make changes to their safety policies. Much of the discussion about addressing harassment in public spaces has been spearheaded by local anti-violence or anti-abuse agencies. In Chicago, two anti-violence agencies in the city created a campaign called Our Music, My Body about three years ago. They help festivals create anti-harassment statements or public policies and show up to festivals to give people information about where to report violence or harassment.” https://bit.ly/2KRDiFM

3. MORE THAN 300 INJURED IN PIER COLLAPSE AT FESTIVAL IN SPAIN: More than 300 people were injured when a pier collapsed during a music festival in Vigo, Spain, on Sunday night. The New York Times: “The pier collapsed around midnight Sunday, throwing people into the water below and on top of one another. Divers and other rescue workers were still searching late Monday morning for anybody who might have been trapped below the broken boards of the pier, but the authorities in the northwestern region of Galicia reported no fatalities. More than 300 people were reportedly injured in the collapse, and after treatment of their injuries, nine people remained hospitalized on Monday, including five in serious condition. The pier collapsed along its central section, which had a length of about 40 meters, or roughly 130 feet, ‘probably either because of excess weight or jumping by the audience,’ Enrique López Veiga, the president of the Vigo port authority, told the Spanish broadcaster Cadena SER. The accident occurred during the closing concert, by the Spanish rap artist Rels B. … The organizers of the festival said in a statement on Monday that their concerts ‘fulfilled the security conditions required by the law.’ An investigation is underway to determine the causes of the accident, but several politicians had warned in recent months that the pier needed work.” https://nyti.ms/2P6pMS0

* LOCAL NEWS *

BOSTON:  The Revolution Hotel will open in South End this fall. Managed by the Mount Vernon Company and Provenance Hotels, the 164-room property will have a two-story lobby, garden-level work space, and a 5,000-square-foot restaurant. 

LOS ANGELES:  Los Angeles Times will host three upcoming Ideas Exchange events at the Theatre at Ace Hotel. The events are conversations with John Kerry on September 15, José Andrés on September 19, and DeRay Mckesson on October 1. 

For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

NEW YORK:  Rihanna’s fourth annual Diamond Ball will take place September 13 at Cipriani Wall Street. The fund-raiser for the Clara Lionel Foundation will be hosted by Issa Rae and feature a performance by Childish Gambino. 

WatchTime magazine's luxury watch and watchmaking festival WatchTime New York will take place October 26-27 at Gotham Hall. 

For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

TORONTO:  The 39th annual International Festival of Authors will take place October 18-28 at Harbourfront Centre. 

YOUR NEWS: What are you doing? Tell us: [email protected]. 

JOB BOARD: Post a job or find a job: http://jobs.bizbash.com

With contributions from Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Ian Zelaya, and Kristine Liao in New York.

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