The last couple of weeks and this morning already have been hopping with phone calls and some emails about rescheduling dates from last year. I was wondering how many of you are getting these rescheduled dates? How many actual cancellations did you have from the pandemic?

We only had a handful of truly canceled dates, as most are (or are expected to) being rescheduled. It looks very promising for several performance markets as of now. People are still being optimistically cautious but excited too. One of the things I've noticed so far is many are paying much closer attention to riders and performance requirements, and other details to the performance than normally. I like this. As I've said before, this is an ideal time to make any changes you want to need to as they are being very accommodating and understanding.

So are you getting these rescheduled dates yet? How many actual cancellations did you have in 2020 and the first weeks of 2021?

Hey Mindpro,

I'm surprised others have not chimed in so far.

I am encouraged by the number of calls I have recently been getting for upcoming shows. Although I'm getting my second vaccine shot in 2-3 weeks, I'm still not eager to jump back into the game just yet. I've turned shows down from March-June more so out of caution on my part. Whether I accept any bookings in July still remains to be seen.

So, unless something is not going right with the virus situation, I can see myself performing once again from August forward. I have talked with a number of places that hire me every year (except last year) and there is great interest in them hosting their events and me returning. Right now, they too are taking it day by day and will make their final decisions in the next few months.

All said, though, I think there are encouraging signs for the future.

Best,

Gerry

I didn't respond because I didn't think the question was directed toward children's entertainers like me.

How many cancellations have rebooked? None for me. Birthday parties and school assemblies are most of my business. When a birthday party cancels because of a year long pandemic, that booking is gone. School assemblies are gone. With the super sensitivity surrounding schools I believe the 2021/2022 school year will be lost also.

But here is some good news. About 2/3 of my usual summer gigs have booked. Many of them booked with the understanding that it would be no problem to cancel if the pandemic persists. But still, it is a sign of optimism. A sign that many people are ready to get on with life.

The summer represents about 30% of my business. So even if the 21/22 season is lost again, with some careful financial planning and a few birthday parties a month (which I am already doing now) I think I can get through this pandemic.

But I have to ask, why so much caution still? 1/3 of the country has either had corona virus or have had the vaccine. And most of the people that have had the vaccine are the ones that are most vulnerable. Which leaves the people that even if they get the virus, the overwhelming majority will experience flu like symptoms and recover quickly.

No one wants to get sick, but life is risky! Lets get on with life!

If you have not noticed that it had become a largely political thing by now welcome to the party.

Keep asking questions like that and this thread will be deleted.

Also the idea that a rescheduled date is equal to the original is folly. You never get that time back. You would have booked that later date anyhow! Pushing dates that far is LOSING MONEY no matter what market you are in.

There are only so many dates on the calendar. Once you are at capacity for performance then pushing dates into next year is tantamount to cancelation. If you have all sorts of open calendar regularly and can do that well good for you. My money is lost forever. As Ken said birthday's are once a year and heck kids age out of them.

It is nice to hang an air freshener on this situation but lost time is lost money.

That’s how I look at it as well. When major shows and events are happening again on a national level, I’ll have plenty of work in my normal markets. Until that happens, I don’t.

I guess if you don’t have much money saved up it’s nice to hang on to deposits but that’s not an issue for me.

I don't mean to come off harsh or get people pessimistic. Not at all. But reality is what it is. Once the time has passed and the date is gone nobody can replace that money. Even IF you keep deposits, or what not there is still the remainder that is not paid and THAT money is lost. I see people post a lot that "time is money" but they do not seem to truly understand this concept.

I do not have a calendar that has a lot of open white space on it. The VAST majority of it, if not all of it, is taken up with dates. So next year will be the same. Pushing dates under those conditions is losing money and there is no other way to look at it.

If you are a birthday party magician who regularly has 8 or 10 shows on a weekend, putting those off for a year means that you will be losing money. Once it has been more than a year, and it has, you are losing money. If they push it for a month, and you had the time open for another date then you have lost nothing. It is a very important distinction. (Not to mention the kids that will age out of birthday parties anyhow.) AND coming out of this thing budgets will not be what they once were so we have yet to see how THAT little fact will impact the future.

I was just hoping to see how others were doing with rescheduling postponed events. Seems many are starting to come around with interest and bookings even if done under the premise of getting it on the books even though we'll really still have to wait and see if things continue to improve.

Danny is correct in the greater picture, but that wasn't really what I was looking for from others here. I will say I found a way to recover last years' bookings without it affecting time, dates, and scheduling of this years' new events. It works only because of one of my performance markets and is resulting from a campaign and model I've created to allow me to reschedule last years' bookings without taking up date avails for this year. I'd share it but it really won't apply to most others.

What remains to be seen is the damage of diminishing interest after a major tragedy/setback as we experienced with 911, the 2008 recession and financial crisis, and now the pandemic. How long will it take to bounce back? Will it ever return to the same?

I'm glad to hear from Ken and Gerry as to their own situations. Ken is right about kid's birthdays. The days of guys having 4 or 5 parties every Saturday and Sunday are a ways away. I think some specific target marketing campaigns need to be in the near future. School assemblies will be interesting to watch and monitor. Fairs and fests will come back strong as long as each state's Governor's act before the end of May.

One already-looking strong market is fundraisers. As you can imagine following this pandemic everyone will need to look closely at funding.

Also, the point about when we are ready to go out there again is also a very good and serious thought.

Yeah Gerry, I too am surprised others haven't chimed in either. Between rescheduling bookings and creating a plan to bounce-back and return on the other side of this, I would expect some really decent discussions here.