When Events Disappear: Lessons from Building (and Losing) Community Traditions

One of the things I’ve been thinking about recently is events, how they start, how they grow, and how easily they can disappear. Full disclosure, I got into events back when I was working for Kragie-Newell, a large advertising agency in Des Moines, Iowa, mostly because I wanted to do the marketing side of things, posters, shirts, and all the design work that makes an event feel cool. 

When I worked for the City of Delta, Colorado, I helped bring back the Crazy Raft Race. The event had been around for nearly 20 years before it disappeared. The original organizers retired, and when they did, the knowledge of how to run the race disappeared with them. Twenty years later, we brought it back.

It was a rewarding experience, but it was also exhausting.

As a one man department, events could quickly become overwhelming. Events sound fun, and they are, but they also require planning, organization, volunteers, sponsors, logistics, marketing, risk management, and constant communication. There are a hundred moving pieces, and most people only see the final product.

That first year we only had four boats, but it felt like a victory just getting the event back on the water. I often tried to keep events from growing too quickly because I knew my limits. If an event grows beyond the staff and volunteer capacity behind it, it can collapse under its own weight.

Before the second year of the raft race, I accepted a position with the City of Castroville, Texas. After I left, the event was canceled again. That’s one of the hardest parts about event work. The people organizing the event often become the entire institutional memory for it. When they leave, the event leaves with them.

I saw the same thing happen with a film festival I worked on in Castroville. We hosted the festival for two years, and it became something the community genuinely embraced. I still remember one filmmaker walking the red carpet while his mother proudly explained they had rented a hotel suite specifically for the occasion. Moments like that remind you why events matter. They create memories for visitors and pride for communities.

But when I left Castroville, the festival ended.

While in Castroville, I also helped create ghost tours during October. We ran tours on Friday and Saturday nights for two weekends and sold out every single night. The event could have easily expanded into the entire month of October. Best of all, the proceeds benefited the Castroville Area Chamber of Commerce. It was one of those events that fit the personality and history of the town perfectly.

In Delta, I also worked on an ultra marathon that sold out and received tremendous feedback from participants. I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard or run so many miles in my life. We also created a downtown cruise that still brings more than 7,000 people into downtown Delta each year.

That is ultimately the goal of good event creation. You want to build something that benefits the community long after you are gone.

The problem is that too many cities rely on one person to carry the entire event. When that person leaves, retires, or changes jobs, nobody knows what to do next. Cities and organizations have to do a better job preserving institutional knowledge.

If you are creating events, here are a few things I strongly recommend:

• Create a master event document with absolutely everything included

• Save vendor contacts, sponsor information, contracts, timelines, and marketing plans

• Keep detailed notes about what worked and what failed

• Document volunteer needs and staffing levels

• Create maps, setup guides, schedules, and checklists

• Save social media graphics, logos, and advertising files in shared folders

• Maintain updated budgets and expense reports

• Build partnerships with chambers, nonprofits, schools, tourism boards, and local businesses

• Make sure multiple people understand how the event operates

• Use a permanent or shared email address for event communication instead of a personal city email whenever possible

That last point matters more than people realize. Once your city deactivates your email address, valuable contacts, sponsorship conversations, registrations, and historical information can disappear overnight. Recovering that information later is incredibly difficult.

Events are important. They create economic impact, build community identity, support local businesses, and give people a reason to gather. They can become part of the story people tell about a town.

Creating events is one of the most rewarding parts of community development work. There is nothing quite like watching people enjoy something you helped build. But if you truly care about the event, you also have to think beyond your own time in that position.

Create events that reflect the personality of your community. Create events that people remember. Create events that help downtown businesses and encourage visitors to return.

Then take the extra time to document everything so the event has a chance to survive after you move on.

Your work is worth preserving, and so is the community effort behind it.