Huntsville, Ala. – In this dire time, the entertainment community of North America is asking for support. Live events have been completely halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We Make Events has organized the #RedAlertRESTART initiative to represent a major call to action on Tuesday, September 1, 2020, imploring the US Congress to pass the RESTART Act (S.3814) as quickly as possible, offering economic relief to the Live Events Industry, which has been shuttered since March, 2020, putting millions of people out of work.
“The group has managed to gather incredible support for this important movement, signing on more than 30 regional directors to lead the initiative in markets nationally,” says #WeMakeEvents North American director, Brad Nelms. This team have been so fired up and already have commitments from hundreds of incredible venues and iconic locations nationally who will show support.”
The #RedAlertRESTART date is September 1, 2020, when buildings, structures, and residences will be lit in red from 9pm-12am (local time in each market) as the event rolls across North America. The goal is to raise public awareness that the Live Events Industry is on Red Alert for its very survival, and create congressional pressure to act now.
The Von Braun Center (VBC) will be participating in the Red Alert initiative on September 1. Anyone locally interested in also participating should contact Justin Young, VBC Production Supervisor, at jyoung@vonbrauncenter.com.
“While we have changed our day-to-day duties in the absence of our normal event load and are operating in a more limited capacity, we are still moving forward with future event bookings and rescheduling current events to future dates,” commented VBC Public Relations Manager, Samantha Nielsen. “Additionally, we have created a new, free local concert series, Mars Local Lineup, that showcases local artists every Friday and Saturday night in Mars Music Hall; as well as, SEC Football Saturdays and NFL Football Sundays where guests can view football games on our three over-sized screens in Mars Music Hall for free. During all event series (Mars Local Lineup, SEC Football Saturdays, and NFL Football Sundays) guests can enjoy drink and food specials from the bar, or walk over to our full-service restaurant and rooftop bar, Rhythm on Monroe.”
#BeAnArtsHero, a grassroots coalition of arts and cultural workers, reports:
“The Arts & Culture sector employs 5.1 million people and provides $877 billion value added to the U.S. economy. It adds more value to the economy than transportation, agriculture, or tourism. The Arts & Culture sector is a cornerstone of the larger U.S. economy, making up 4.5% of GDP. Despite their out-sized cultural and economic contribution, the Arts & Culture sector of the U.S. economy is in grave danger.
Due to Covid-19, 62% of Arts Workers report that they are fully unemployed. 94% of Arts workers report income loss; to date, the average Arts worker reports $23,500 in lost revenue this year. Due to Covid, 66% of Arts workers report they are unable to access the spaces, staff, resources, or supplies needed to perform their work.”
The targeted list of cities for the #WeMakeEvents #RedAlertRESTART event on September 1, 2020 across North America includes Washington D.C., Huntsville, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, New Orleans, Boston, Baltimore, Las Vegas, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Nashville, Dallas, Austin, Houston, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Portland, Phoenix, Boulder, Fayetteville, Lexington, Louisville, and Canadian neighbors including Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.
The North American event comes on the heels of the August 11 event #WeMakeEvents Red Alert Day Of Action when over 700 buildings were lit in red across the UK, calling attention to the same plight facing the Live Events Industry there.
As theatres, concert tours, festivals, opera houses, trade shows, and other live events as well as film and television production remain closed, or open on a very limited basis, the entire industry is impacted, from designers, technicians, programmers, and stagehands to rental shops, manufacturers, and distributors of entertainment technology. The first industry to close last March, Live Events could be the last sector to re-open due to the COVID-19 crisis.
About the Von Braun Center
The Von Braun Center is a multi-purpose facility located in downtown Huntsville, Alabama. The VBC offers multiple venues for presenting cultural, educational, entertainment, sporting and social events. Venue spaces include the Propst Arena, Mark C. Smith Concert Hall, Mars Music Hall, North Hall, South Hall, and East Hall. Additionally, the VBC has an on-site full-service restaurant and rooftop bar – Rhythm on Monroe. With over 170,000 square feet of flexible meeting space the VBC is able to accommodate events of all types and sizes.
