Greater Madison is the home to several organizations that provide products and services to the live events industry worldwide. On Tuesday evening between 9 pm and midnight, expect to see many of these local companies lighting their buildings and holding socially distanced events in support of a global initiative that is calling attention to the fact that their entire industry halted abruptly earlier this year.
WeMakeEvents North America is spearheading the #RedAlertRESTART Day of Action on Tuesday, September 1, 2020, with up to 1,500 buildings lit in red in over 50 cities coast-to-coast, from 9 pm-midnight (local time). The goal is to raise public awareness about the economic plight of the Live Events Industry and urge Congress to pass the RESTART Act and extend PUA and FPUC to provide financial assistance to unemployed and 1099 workers.
Link, an international provider of portable audio, power, and data distribution systems based in Rome Italy, will host live music at their USA headquarters at 8001 Terrace Avenue in Middleton and live on Facebook. Participating organizations include AudioBiz of Ingleside, IL, Blizzard Lighting of Waukesha, WI, FCS Partners of Middleton, WI, Intellasound Productions of Verona, WI, and Red Square Audio of Madison, WI. Music will be provided by The Yard Dogs.
ETC, a global leader in the manufacturing of lighting and rigging technology, will be illuminating their headquarters on Pleasant View Road in Middleton, streaming live on Facebook, and welcoming the leadership from IATSE Local 251 International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.
Full Compass Systems, one of the nation's most extensive professional audio, video, A/V and lighting equipment retailers, will light up their headquarters at 9770 Silicon Prairie Pkwy in Madison and provide support to the live event at Terrace Avenue.
Overture Center and many of the FPC Live venues located around Madison will be illuminated in red as well.
"The entire industry has been impacted by the shutdown, including actors, designers, stagehands, programmers, rental shops, and manufacturers like ETC," says David Lincecum, Vice President of Marketing at ETC. "Entertainment and events were instantly shut down in March and will be late to recover. Our industry and workers need more relief measures like the RESTART Act."
All live events were shut down in March of 2020, impacting millions of people in an industry estimated to generate close to $1-trillion in revenue per year. Due to public health concerns, live events are unlikely to return until mid-2021, making the RESTART Act an essential piece of legislation for our businesses' survival.
"The live events industry is on the brink of collapse. Without financial relief, many businesses stand to permanently close, and families risk bankruptcy and homelessness," says Brad Nelms, director of WeMakeEvents North America. "We want to take this opportunity to show the world the scale of what it takes to make live entertainment events happen and demonstrate how much this crisis has affected our community.
Over 50 cities in North America are participating, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC, Tuscaloosa, Flagstaff, Phoenix, Fayetteville, San Jose, San Diego, Boulder, Denver, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, Saratoga, Schenectady, Troy, Raleigh, Durham, Reno, Cleveland, Akron, Sandusky, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, Nashville, Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Salt Lake City, Charleston, Madison, Milwaukee, Honolulu, Chicago, Indianapolis, Ft Wayne, Boston, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Omaha, Santa Fe, Albany, Buffalo, and others from coast to coast. There is also a partner in Trinidad & Tobago.