With our well-planned processes and well-oiled event machines looking forward to their annual preparations for a normal year, as we celebrated the start of the 2020 New Year, little did we recognize that we were all about to be enrolled in a Master’s Degree program that none of us asked for. Now, as we wrap up that ‘novel’ year, with renewed optimism for 2021, but a realistic understanding of the challenges that still lie ahead of us, our usual “Happy Holidays” greeting seemed to need an expanded message.
As we all look to this holiday season for a much-needed respite with our families or others within our safe quarantine bubbles, our thoughts and prayers go out to all those who may have lost loved ones, lost jobs, and/or lost events as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, or by any other reason, during the past year. We understand and empathize with all those in our own global industry, and so many others, for whom this may not be the happiest of holidays.
 
And while 2020 was a year that shone a spotlight on many fault-lines in our world, it also shone an equally, if not brighter spotlight on the resilience and fortitude and creativity and optimism and relationships that underpin our entire global industry. It has reinforced the importance of our industry to the world; shown us (like the movie, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’) what the world looks like when we are not able to go on with the show; and re-emphasized the critical need and desire by our communities and countries around the globe to come back together to celebrate who we are – together – at our best.

The IFEA took a leadership role at the start of the pandemic and the closure of mass gatherings around the world. We reached out to include everyone in our industry in the important conversations and sharing that have gotten us through to this point. We grew our global network of friends and partners on your behalf. We asked you to actively participate with your peers in the first of our IFEA COVID-19 Task Forces, to help us all and our events, as we considered how to Re-Present, Re-Connect, Re-Structure, prepare to Re-Open, and Re-Imagine what the future may look like for all of us, and all of our stakeholders, whom we serve and depend upon. And we presented the results of that effort during our (free) IFEA Day online experience in October.

Moving to the new virtual world that quickly became the safest and primary option for our world to connect, (with your help and direct participation) we provided expanded and focused global education and networking opportunities through our live and on-demand webinars; virtual networking professional Affinity Groups; our quarterly magazine, ie: the business of international events; and our weekly IFEA Update. With the help of our instructors and facilitators we continued our CFEE professional certification training by pivoting to an online format. We tracked the impact of the pandemic and other critical news through the global media and provided it to you in our weekly IFEA Event Insider. We researched, tracked and provided information and direct links to you regarding vaccine development, government funding programs, industry case studies, and other critical tools related to the pandemic by building one of the most complete COVID-19 web resource pages in the industry. And we advocated for our common industry to the media and government sources that can help us bring others to the table to assist in our long-term sustainability and success.

We worked with all of you (events and suppliers and host cities, et al.), as you maneuvered your way through your challenges closer to home, to ensure that you could maintain your all-important connections with your global peers and customers through the IFEA. We talked directly with your boards and sponsors and staffs, as well as the students who are studying to become the next generation of leaders for our industry, to help them all understand and make sense out of an unfamiliar position for all of us. And often, we just served as a friendly and empathetic sounding board.

In the New Year ahead, we have every intent of continuing to be there for you every step of the journey, as we respond to new opportunities, new challenges, new vaccines, and new expectations yet to be defined. We will continue our current programs and plan to add new ones in partnership with all of you. And we are working, as best we can, to make the large majority of those available to all of you as a benefit of your IFEA membership, keeping in mind the financial challenges that we all continue to face in the near-term.

But to do all of that, just as we must all work together to get through these ‘novel’ times, we must also count on all of you to help us out. Like all of you, without our annual convention event, we are operating without our largest annual revenue source and have already had to furlough some staff, but need every one of our essential employees to provide the products, resources and services that are so important to our industry.
If you are already an IFEA member, please send in your 2021 renewal dues now, even if they are not yet due until a little later in the year.
If you know others who are not yet a member, please share with them the importance of the IFEA to you and your events/organizations and encourage them to join.
If you are able, please consider making a (tax-deductible) donation to the IFEA Foundation, whose support ensures that all of our important IFEA educational programs continue on strongly and sustainably. Your support, at any level, is greatly appreciated and valued.
As we slow down for a moment for the holidays, if just to catch our breath before the New Year calendar turns (sans many of the normal global gatherings and celebrations that our industry produces), please join us in reflecting that as long as we have our families and good friends (some secured in our hearts through our memories); our health (wear a mask, safe distance, and get vaccinated when you are able); our hope and optimism for a gradual return to normalcy in the year ahead; and a never-faltering vision of the joy and critical/essential value that the events of our global industry bring, and will continue to bring, to the world; it is still, truly, a happy holiday.

On Behalf of the Entire IFEA Staff, We Wish You All a Safe, Healthy and Happy Holiday Season!
The IFEA office will be closed for the holidays from December 24th, 2020 to January 3rd, 2021.
About the IFEA:
The International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA) is The Premier Association Supporting and Enabling Festival & Event Professionals Worldwide.  With a target audience that includes all those who produce and support quality celebrations for the benefit of their respective "communities," the IFEA's primary focus is identifying and providing access to the professional resources and networks that will inspire and enable those in our industry to realize their dreams, build community and sustain success through celebration. Membership in the IFEA provides value from all directions, including invaluable contacts and cash budget savings worth many times the membership investment. The more you use them, the higher your return.
Thank You to Our Association Endorsed Partners: 
The IFEA would like to thank the following partners for their dedicated support of the association. Association Endorsed Partners have made a commitment to the continued success of our association, our members, and our industry through their umbrella sponsorship support of all IFEA programs and services. Show your support for these dedicated providers to our industry by getting to know them, and the high-quality products and services that they supply, better.
Stay Connected:
International Festivals & Events Association
2603 W. Eastover Terrace - Boise, ID - 83706 USA
Phone: +1-208-433-0950 Email: beth@ifea.com Website: www.ifea.com