Lighting&Sound America Online - News: IAAPA, the global association for the attractions industry, announces the cancellation of IAAPA Expo 2020 in Orlando, Florida. In addition, the association is launching a new virtual conference for global attractions industry professionals so that they can take part in many of the education sessions originally planned to take place at IAAPA Expo.
3 comments:
I chose to look into this article because I am interested in attractions and their operations. Especially as someone who had been in Orlando until the pandemic, it would have been cool to attend. I am definitely going to look into attending their virtual expo. It is nice to know that the expo plans to return in 2021, and hopefully by then, we will return to a sense of normalcy.
I found my way into theatre after having a continued interest in being a part of storytelling. Even before I knew theatre was for me, I knew I wanted to work in the entertainment industry. I have always admired theme park’s ability to bring their guests into the stories and theming of their parks. I love the integration of technology and story to create what we know to be attractions today.
I also read a great article on their site about why we should not cancel Halloween and how it could actually boost our moods amidst the pandemic. I do think we should have a modified Halloween experience, but it would be nice to keep the spirit intact.
-Ariel Bernhard
I like that IAAPA is taking a similar stance to conference safety as USITT. I really enjoyed the availability and breadth of the digital content that USITT provided in the wake of cancelling their conference, and tried to take full advantage of their offerings. Though I was not originally planning to attend IAAPA, I find it really exciting that I can potentially partake in their new offerings and network with potential employers! While it is unclear how the virtual expo will work, I appreciate that they are doing their best with the cards they have been dealt. After all, rewriting the playbook to adapt to new conditions is a foundational skill in the entertainment industry, especially in live performance. That said, I appreciate their optimism in planning to host IAAPA 2021 in Orlando and Macao in person. In conclusion, I am really excited to attend IAPPA 2020 virtually to take advantage of their digital offerings and learn more about the attractions portion of the entertainment industry!
The obvious answer is to cancel the expo. Plans for a non-virtual expo in 2021 are foolish in my opinion. Even more foolish is the idea that USITT will have some in-person components right now for USITT 2021. The idea that anything is in person before there is a vaccine frankly is irritating to me as that is just a recipe for an outbreak. In America currently, we don’t have the capacity to in-person things. Also just because we aren’t currently in a stay at home order doesn’t mean we couldn’t be. Experts are predicting the winter months to be rough again causing more spikes in the numbers and if returning to a college campus in person is showing anything it is that hybrid learning/gathering of any people is a recipe for an outbreak or just frankly an increase in cases. The idea of in-person trade association meetings is baffling as this one great way to cause an outbreak not only in the location of where the conference is taking place but also on all the college campuses that all the students and professors who go to the conferences return to. It isn’t thinking positively about having an in-person event, it is frankly foolish, selfish, and irresponsible. A virtual event takes just as much planning if not more for it to be successful and the best that it could be. In my little experience with hybrid learning and quickly pivoting from an in-person showcase to an e showcase, it is much easier to do something all in the same modality than try to make it the best experience in person and not in person. Even though government leadership won’t cancel large in-person events, the industry should know better than be this foolish.
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