We Make Events 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 from coast-to-coast, including here in JXN, from 9pm-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, as well as extend and expand PUA for 1099 workers and FPUC to provide financial assistance to the unemployed.

In JXN, Davaine Lighting’s Stephen Barnette is serving as captain.

“As you know, businesses like mine are struggling due to the inability to gather people for large events,” Barnette said. “We’ll have crews out lighting up public gathering spaces and venues in red to bring awareness to the ‘behind- the-scenes’ people that make events happen.”

Over 60 cities in North America are participating. Confirmed buildings in JXN are:

  • Thalia Mara Hall
  • Mississippi Arts Center
  • Hal & Mal’s
  • Duling Hall
  • Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium / JSU Tiger Stadium
  • The Faulkner
  • Lamar Life Building
  • New Stage Theatre

Since all live events were shut down in March 2020, millions of people have been impacted in an industry estimated at generating $877-billion in revenue per year.

Due to public health concerns, live events will not return until sometime next year, making the RESTART Act an essential piece of legislation for the survival of our businesses. Additionally, support for #ExtendPUA and FPUC is necessary to help the people that are unable to return to work.

Since March 2020:

  • Thousands of events have been canceled
  • 77% of the people in the event industry have lost 100% of their income
  • 96% of companies have cut staff
  • 97% of 1099 workers have lost their jobs

“The entire 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. This is a human issue, not a political issue, and it requires immediate action. While we realize there are a lot of issues going on right now, and other organizations will be staging events on other dates, we feel very strongly we must act now to save our industry.”