Latoya says no festivals in New Orleans for 2020! (1 Viewer)

[Super44]

What is the timetable for the logistics- both municipal and promoters - to host such huge events?
If none of us know this answer, then we probably don’t have the perspective to know when is too early to signal the city’s thoughts

I will tell you since someone in my family is in the local hospitality business. 2 months in advance. So end of July would be appropriate.

 

[Super44]

This I agree with. These huge events are planned several months, if not years in advance. You really need to make cancellation decisions months in advance to allow people time to change plans and vendors to reschedule catering, services and other things. It's a massive undertaking to either cancel or move these events. 6 months really isn't that long as far as logistics and event planning goes.

Not really. Everything at this point is on a short string any way, since the festivals were rescheduled. They are on a very short notice of change.

 

[DaveXA]

Not really. Everything at this point is on a short string any way, since the festivals were rescheduled. They are on a very short notice of change.

Yes, but it still takes a ton of planning to run these rescheduled events. You normally have at least a year of lead time. You're condensing that into a shorter timeline and with rescheduling, you have to circle back to all of the original vendors to see if they'll still be able to provide their service on the rescheduled dates and find new vendors to replace those who have gone out of business or are not available during the new dates. It's a huge challenge and to change it up or cancel the events in a realistic way, they need to be able to cancel with some lead time.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

I will tell you since someone in my family is in the local hospitality business. 2 months in advance. So end of July would be appropriate.

Wait...you’re saying you think jazz fest can scaffold up and scaffold down in 2 months?

 

[Saint Jack]

What about movie theatres? IMO, they are TOAST! Buy all in on NETFLIX stock! They will double in price per share by the end of 2020!

I wouldn’t go that far. The studios need those theaters to stay alive.
For all the movies Netflix releases, they are in major debt.

 

[BlackandGoldXLIV]

Mardi Gras was on February 25th.

The first Covid death in the U.S. was on February 29th.

That means more people died by getting run over by a float, than by the coronavirus as of February 25th.

But the mayor was nationally criticized for not being proactive enough to stop an international festival from being a virus breeding ground for the city.

Now the United States is the leader in Covid deaths and cases.

But we want to criticize her for being proactive enough to stop an international festival from being a virus breeding ground for the city?

 

[DavidM]

I didn't say that. But maybe. If the initial hit of the thing has moved through enough population that the negative outcome of a rebound is similar to the average flu season, then I'd say move on along.

I wonder how many people that would have to be and how long it would take to get there.

Known cases currently account for significantly less than 1% of the population (614,000 reported infections). I don’t know what a realistic extrapolation would be, but if we increased that number 10x, we’re at about 2% of the population. That leaves a lot of people who haven’t been exposed and remain at risk.

A lot will depend on how well we can test, monitor transmission, and respond to outbreaks, which leads back to the other thread.

 

[Super44]

Mardi Gras was on February 25th.

The first Covid death in the U.S. was on February 29th.

That means more people died by getting run over by a float, than by the coronavirus as of February 25th.

But the mayor was nationally criticized for not being proactive enough to stop an international festival from being a virus breeding ground for the city.

Now the United States is the leader in Covid deaths and cases.

But we want to criticize her for being proactive enough to stop an international festival from being a virus breeding ground for the city?

I am not criticizing her for being proactive, but the timing of her statements. If you want to get down to the brass tacks of it, are there any other mayors/leaders throughout the country, looking that far down the road? And there are other areas of the country that host major festivals and draw people from all over the world. So do not tell me, this is unique to New Orleans!

And I want to be perfectly clear to you! I am one of the biggest proponents of full on precautions for this virus. All you need to do, is look no further than than the tip of your nose.

I still think it is a bit of grand standing by Latoya at this time.

And by the way. We are just under 6 months away from the first rescheduled festival. So why now is she making such statements? If she was so “proactive”, she should have squashed the rescheduling of the festivals when they were initially rescheduled about 3 weeks ago. She knew she was UNJUSTLY criticized by some for allowing the Carnival season to take place. She could have just stepped in right at that time of the rescheduling and suggested they all be shutdown. She did not.

My point is about her timing.

 

[Super44]

I wouldn’t go that far. The studios need those theaters to stay alive.
For all the movies Netflix releases, they are in major debt.

Points well taken. ?

 

[Super44]

Wait...you’re saying you think jazz fest can scaffold up and scaffold down in 2 months?

You have no idea, about scaffolding, I can tell. Yes, they can scaffold all of the stages and any other required areas with the right amount of craftspersons, in about a week’s time! I work in a field where I know about scaffolding, buddy. It would blow your mind, how fast something can be built with scaffolding. It would take a crew of people to handle each area to be scaffolded. But believe me, about 1 week and all the scaffolding would be done! Scaffolding crews are some of the most efficient workers I have worked around, in my 40 years of work! And scaffolding down? Please! No time at all.

 

[Super44]

Yes, but it still takes a ton of planning to run these rescheduled events. You normally have at least a year of lead time. You're condensing that into a shorter timeline and with rescheduling, you have to circle back to all of the original vendors to see if they'll still be able to provide their service on the rescheduled dates and find new vendors to replace those who have gone out of business or are not available during the new dates. It's a huge challenge and to change it up or cancel the events in a realistic way, they need to be able to cancel with some lead time.

Do you HONESTLY believe, these vendors are booked for anything else, this far out? They are chomping at the bit to be booked this far out. Same holds true for a lot of the performers. And if say two months before the festivals are to begin they need to be canceled, sobwhat? At that point, the vendors and performers would not have to be rescheduled for anywhere else, anyway because we will all be right back in the same boat once again. It will not just be a New Orleans problem. It will once again be a national, or global problem. The timing of cancelling say two months out, is not an issue, considering the unique dynamics of this pandemic.

 

[StudioSaint]

Do you HONESTLY believe, these vendors are booked for anything else, this far out?

Responding in kind, YES. You're also missing the point that the festival coordinators are the ones that need time to plan and arrange the event.

For two years I did all the planning for my company's vendor booth in trade shows. We always had to book a spot on the show floor at least 6 months in advanced. We had to book hotel rooms at least 6 months in advance. We booked our air travel around 4 months in advance. The trade show coordinators need that much time to properly plan and organize the shows.

These were all for indoor events in convention centers with permanent logistical facilities and infrastructure.

Please explain why coordinators of outdoor events don't need as much lead time to properly coordinate and organize.

 

[EGLSShin]

I'm fine witn the suspension of festivals and sports unless we get insanely lucky and can produce something medically that reduces how nasty this virus is down to a basic sniffle.

I have been fully prepared for a month now to understand that world that existed 5 months ago will never exist again. We're entering uncharted waters as a civilization in the modern era.

 

[WhoDatPhan78]

We started with only a few cases.

Now we have over 600k.

The reason the projections went down is because everyone is staying home. If we stop staying home with even thousands of active cases, we will soon be back to having projections of millions of deaths.

There won’t be any festivals, concerts, or sporting events in 2020. We need to accept that reality..

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

You have no idea, about scaffolding, I can tell. Yes, they can scaffold all of the stages and any other required areas with the right amount of craftspersons, in about a week’s time! I work in a field where I know about scaffolding, buddy. It would blow your mind, how fast something can be built with scaffolding. It would take a crew of people to handle each area to be scaffolded. But believe me, about 1 week and all the scaffolding would be done! Scaffolding crews are some of the most efficient workers I have worked around, in my 40 years of work! And scaffolding down? Please! No time at all.

Yes by ‘scaffolding‘ I meant the actual putting together of pieces to physically construct the stages and tents
*eyeroll*