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Events

Managing Festival Events

Events represent specific instances of your festival - typically one per year. Each event has its own dates, artists, stages, and program. This guide explains how to work with events effectively.

What Is an Event?

An event is a specific occurrence of your festival. For example:

  • Yackandandah Folk Festival 2024
  • Yackandandah Folk Festival 2025
  • Yackandandah Folk Festival 2026

Each event is independent, with its own:

  • Start and end dates
  • Timezone
  • Artists (selected from your festival’s artist roster)
  • Stages
  • Performance schedule/program

Think of events like “chapters” of your festival. They help you organize past, current, and future events separately while keeping everything under one festival umbrella.

Creating Your First Event

From your festival dashboard, click Events in the left sidebar.

Click Create Event

Click the Create Event button at the top of the page.

Fill in Event Details

Provide the following information:

Start Date (required)

  • The first day of your festival
  • Click the calendar icon to select a date
  • Format: Month/Day/Year

End Date (required)

  • The last day of your festival
  • Must be the same as or after the start date
  • Multi-day festivals: Select the final day
  • Single-day festivals: Use the same date for start and end

Timezone (required)

  • Select the timezone where your festival takes place
  • Important for accurate scheduling
  • Common options: America/Los_Angeles, America/New_York, Australia/Sydney, etc.

Create the Event

Click Create Event. Your new event will be created and set as the active event automatically.

Create your event as soon as you know your festival dates. You can add artists, stages, and build your program even months in advance.

Understanding Active Events

Stagecraft uses the concept of an active event:

What Is an Active Event?

  • The event you’re currently working on
  • The event displayed in your dashboard
  • The event accessible through the API
  • Only one event can be active at a time

How Active Events Work

  • When you create your first event, it automatically becomes active
  • To work on a different event, make it active
  • Past events remain in the system but aren’t active
  • You can switch between events at any time

Why This Matters

  • Your program builder works with the active event
  • Artists and stages are associated with the active event
  • API calls return data from the active event only
  • The dashboard shows statistics for the active event

Viewing Event Details

From the Events page, click on any event to see:

  • Event dates and year
  • Timezone
  • Number of artists in this event
  • Number of stages
  • Number of scheduled performances
  • Active status indicator
  • Quick link to view or build the program

Managing Events

Switching Active Events

To make a different event active:

Go to Events Page

Click Events in the sidebar to see all your events.

Select an Event

Find the event you want to work on and click its card or name.

Set as Active

If the event isn’t already active, you’ll see a Set as Active button. Click it.

Switching active events changes what you see throughout the app. Make sure you’re working on the correct event before making changes.

Editing Event Details

To update an event’s information:

Access Event

From the Events page, click on the event you want to edit.

Click Edit

Look for the Edit Event button near the top of the event details.

Update Information

Modify the start date, end date, or timezone as needed.

Save Changes

Click Save to update the event.

You can edit event details at any time, even if the event has artists and performances scheduled. Changes to dates won’t affect the scheduled times directly but may make them appear outside the event period.

Deleting an Event

To remove an event you no longer need:

Access Event

Navigate to the event you want to delete.

Click Delete

Look for the Delete Event button (usually in red).

Confirm Deletion

Confirm that you want to delete the event.

Important: This action:

  • Removes the event permanently
  • Deletes all stages created for this event
  • Removes all performances scheduled in this event
  • Removes artist associations (but not the artists themselves)
  • Cannot be undone

Deleting an event removes all its associated data. Make sure you have backups or exports if you need to reference this information later.

Working with Event Artists

Artists in Stagecraft exist at the festival level, but you associate them with specific events.

Adding Artists to an Event

Go to Events and select the event you want to add artists to (make it active if needed).

Go to Event Details

Click on the event to view its details page.

Access Artists Section

Scroll to the Artists section or click the Artists tab.

Add Existing Artists

Click Add Artist and select from your festival’s artist roster. You can add artists that already exist in your festival.

The same artist can perform in multiple events. Adding an artist to one event doesn’t remove them from others.

Learn more about managing artists →

Setting Up Stages

Each event can have its own stages:

Select the event you want to add stages to.

Access Stages

From the event details, navigate to the Stages section.

Create Stages

Click Create Stage and provide stage details like name, description, and capacity.

Create your stages before building your program. You’ll need at least one stage to schedule performances.

Learn more about stages →

Building Your Program

Once you have stages created, you can build the performance schedule:

  1. Make sure the event is active
  2. Navigate to the Program page (from event details or sidebar)
  3. Use the visual program builder to schedule performances
  4. Drag and drop to adjust times and stages

Artists are optional - you can create performances with just a name and description. However, adding artists to your event makes scheduling easier.

Learn more about building programs →

Best Practices

Planning Ahead

Create Next Year Early:

  • Set up next year’s event as soon as dates are confirmed
  • Allows early planning without interfering with current event
  • Team can start adding artists and rough schedules

Keep Past Events:

  • Don’t delete old events unless absolutely necessary
  • Historical data is valuable for planning future events
  • Past schedules can serve as templates

Organizing Multiple Events

Use Clear Dates:

  • Double-check start and end dates before creating
  • Ensure timezone is correct for your location
  • Verify dates don’t overlap between events (unless intentional)

One Active at a Time:

  • Keep only the event you’re actively working on as “active”
  • Switch to past events only when you need to reference them
  • Switch to future events when planning ahead

Working with Your Team

Communicate Event Changes:

  • Let your team know when you switch active events
  • Ensure everyone knows which event they should be working on
  • Be careful when multiple people are editing

Event Timeline Example

Here’s a typical workflow for managing events:

January (14 months before festival):

  • Create next year’s event with confirmed dates
  • Set as active to begin planning

March-August:

  • Add artists to the event
  • Create stages
  • Begin rough program scheduling

September:

  • Finalize artist roster
  • Complete program schedule
  • Test and verify all details

November (Festival month):

  • Event remains active during the festival
  • Make any last-minute adjustments

December (After festival):

  • Review event statistics
  • Set event as inactive (switch to next year’s event)
  • Keep for historical reference

Common Questions

Can I have multiple events active at once?

No. Only one event can be active at a time. This keeps your program builder and dashboard focused on the event you’re currently working on.

What happens to inactive events?

Inactive events remain in the system with all their data intact. You can view them, make them active again, or reference them at any time. They just won’t appear in your main dashboard or be accessible via the API.

Can I copy an event?

Not directly through the interface. Each event must be created separately. However, you can reference past events when building new ones, and artists from previous events remain in your roster.

How far in advance can I create an event?

As far as you like! If you know your festival dates for 2026, you can create that event now. There’s no limit on how far in the future your events can be.

Can I change the year after creating an event?

The year is automatically determined by the start date. If you need to change the year, update the start date to a date in the desired year.

Troubleshooting

Can’t create an event

If you’re unable to create an event:

  • Verify you have Admin or Editor role (Viewers cannot create events)
  • Check that your subscription is active (try during free trial at minimum)
  • Ensure start date is before or equal to end date
  • Make sure you’ve selected a valid timezone

Event not showing in dashboard

If your event isn’t appearing:

  • Check if it’s set as the active event
  • Verify the event was successfully created (check Events page)
  • Try refreshing the page

Changes not saving

If your event changes aren’t saving:

  • Check your internet connection
  • Verify you have permission to edit (Editor or Admin role required)
  • Try again in a few moments
  • Check if another user is editing the same event

What’s Next?

Now that you understand events:

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