{"id":28248,"date":"2020-06-03T06:42:34","date_gmt":"2020-06-03T13:42:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/?p=28248"},"modified":"2020-07-15T09:17:11","modified_gmt":"2020-07-15T16:17:11","slug":"how-to-create-a-virtual-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/how-to-create-a-virtual-event\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create a Virtual Event"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the effects of COVID-19 continue to be felt around the world, our industry has had to adapt in ways it didn\u2019t anticipate.<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

One key element of the specialty beverage industry is events. From trade shows to latte art throwdowns, in-person events make up a large part of our world, creating opportunities for career and skill development, networking, education, sales, and forging deeper connections with our peers. But in light of the pandemic, the future of such events has been called into question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Diana Mnatsakanyan-Sapp and Matt Dudley.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Some organizers, however, have found success using digital platforms for their events. For example, the creators of No Filter Coffee Fest<\/a> (formerly known as POUR Coffee Festival<\/a>) in Charlotte, North Carolina, recently hosted a completely virtual event on Instagram Live, with more than 700 people around the world participating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After refunding vendors when the pandemic halted preparations for the in-person festival and finding themselves \u201cback at square zero,\u201d Diana Mnatsakanyan-Sapp says she and co-creator Matt Dudley wanted \u201cto draw attention to the people that had already agreed to do our 2020 fest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCoffee people are struggling, and consumers could be reminded why\u2026supporting local businesses is important,\u201d she says.<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

And so, from May 12 through May 16, coffee professionals and roasters in the Southeast took to the social media platform to present on topics ranging from the coffee price crisis and sustainability to coffee cocktails and digital roasting. Mnatsakanyan-Sapp says each session had between 50\u201390 viewers, with some tuning in from Canada, the United Kingdom, and even Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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? REPOST from co-founder @workingremoatly ? \u201cThis past week. Wow. #nofiltercoffeefest\u2019s virtual debut was so much better than I could have ever imaged!!! . We had people tuning in from Ukraine, the UK, Japan, and all over the United States. We had @uscoffeechamps National Champions teaching sessions, we had the opportunity to \u201ctour\u201d a Brazilian coffee farm, we had some technical difficulties (of course), and we had some great belly laughs. Our attendance averaged around 50 viewers per session, with a total of roughly 755 people tuning in to the 16 sessions we coordinated over those five days. . I am infinitely grateful for the love shown to our Southeastern coffee partners, thrilled to have had the opportunity to do something like this, to witness so much love for coffee people and coffee education. Thank you, everyone, for the support. . Hopefully we\u2019ll still have our in-person fest in Charlotte in November… but safety is my first priority so we\u2019re just going to play it by ear for now. In the meantime, I\u2019m going to try to wrangle all these videos into one place for those who might have missed them last week. Fingers crossed all the videos exist and that the internet is kind to me ? Thanks y\u2019all. Love you.\u201d<\/a><\/p>

A post shared by No Filter Coffee Fest<\/a> (@nofiltercoffeefest) on