I love events because they combine two of my favorite things: doing new things and meeting new people. I have been covering festivals, pop-ups, fashion shows, and other events for years and one of the questions I get asked the most is, “How did you hear about that?” Large-scale events can often afford much splashier advertising like billboards, television, and radio, but sometimes smaller events need to be found. These are tips that you can use to find the events and adventures for yourself, wherever you live.
Find the publications and blogs that cover events in your area
An easy place to start is Eventbrite, because it is in every city and is easy to search. One of my favorite features is that you can follow organizers you like so you can get alerts when their next event gets scheduled. Here in D.C. we have publications like Brightest Young Things, Edible DC, and As It Happens that showcase (and produce) great events in the city. This isn’t exclusive to D.C. — every city has resources like this just waiting to help get you connected. Sometimes the easiest place to start is to find fun events in your city and work your way backwards to find the host and then follow them on social to be alerted about the next one.
Source: @annafoushee
Find your favorite venues and search through their calendar
In every city there are go-to event spaces where people host their parties. It’s a great place to start when trying to figure out what is going on in your city. D.C. has new venues like Eaton D.C., which is a hub for meeting creatives and artists in the area; or Longview Gallery, which often hosts events with both local and national brands or the many museums around the district.
Source: Janelle Marie Lloyd | @waityouneedthis
Find your favorite event hosts and promoters and follow them on social media
Events need an audience to thrive, so hosts and promoters are a great resource for staying connected with what is going on in your city. If you go to or hear about an event that you really enjoyed, find out who hosted it and follow them on social media to keep up with what they do next. This is a great way to get linked in to events and find out about them before they sell out.
Follow your favorite local restaurants on social media
Supporting your local restaurants is so important and one way to do it is to follow them on social media. Not only will you know about menu and staff changes, but you’ll also get a head’s up about any fun events or promotions in which the restaurant is participating. Maybe they’re hosting a summer block party with other local bars and restaurants, maybe they’ll have live music in the evenings, or maybe they just have some great deals that aren’t offered at other times in the year.
Source: @tourdelust
Follow your favorite brands on social media and subscribe to their mailing list
Often when brands go to a new area, they turn first to their mailing list and then to social media to spread the word. If you really want to make sure you stay informed, you can turn on notifications. You can also show brands love online when you share about them and tag them on social, and you never know where that love can lead.
Make your own events
Sometimes you have to make your own fun, and events do not always have to be large affairs. If you want to have more fun with your friends, sometimes you have to be the activity leader. Keep it simple and figure out the where, when, and the cost per person.
There are a couple things to remember when organizing. If there is a minimum (like for a dinner) collect everyone’s funds the week before so that you do not get left holding the bag if people cancel last minute. You should also keep is small and simple. Make sure you calculate tax and fees into whatever activity you do. Give people enough notice so that they can put it on their calendar and send out a reminder a couple days before, because things can slip through the cracks. Don’t forget that there are plenty of fun, easy, and free or cheap things you can arrange too. A game of soccer or volleyball in the park, super soaker fight, or a group outing to a museum are all fun and fairly simple to put together.
As we move further into the summer and the weather continues to warm up, there are lots of fun things to do around the city. You just have to find them — or sometimes, you have to make them.
