13 Fantastic Ways to Celebrate Pride

June 2, 2015
By Amanda Halm

June is LGBT Pride Month. A time to reflect on past (and current) struggles, celebrate positive changes and paint the town rainbow.

In honor of Pride Month, here are 13 LGBT festivals, parades, parties and fundraisers in big cities and small towns around the U.S. Do whatever makes you feel most proud.

Drag + Cabaret
1. The Story of Gay Pride in Drag, Seattle. Sylvia hopes to start a new tradition with gay “herstory” pageants. She pays homage to pride’s progression through drag and explores how drag queens and fringe performers have helped move LGBT rights forward.

2. German Beer Sparkle Party & Cabaret Show, Philadelphia. This cabaret show caught our eyes because it converges two things we like—Philly Beer Week and Pride Month. Sip German stouts and watch a dazzling drag performance by Martha Graham Cracker and her cabaret band.

LGBT Chorus
3. A Little Rainbow in the River City, Austin. Did you know Austin and San Antonio share the nickname, River City? Austin’s Capital City Men’s Chorus joins the Live Oak Singers, a San Antonio-based LGBT chorus for inspirational music selected from the great American Songbook.

4. The Stonewall Chorale Goes to the Movies, New York City. Strut the red carpet in your finest. Sing along to classic movie tunes, like “Over the Rainbow,” and “Moon River” with the nation’s first LGBT chorus. This event doubles as a fundraiser so you’ll get to bid on must-have items in the lobby.

5. Artemis Singers Present … Proud to be Me, Chicago. Celebrate pride with a song. Artemis Singers, Chicago’s Lesbian Feminist Chorus comprises, “women with diverse backgrounds who are dedicated to performing music written or arranged by women.” Artemis Singers is still singing it loud and proud after 35 years—that’s incredible.

Sports
6. Gem City Rollergirl’s Pride Bout, Dayton, Ohio. Frothy beer, free parking and loads of jamming fun for all.

Fundraisers
7. Dentistry Pride Alliance Fundraiser, Chicago. Finally, a dentist you’ll want to see. The Dentistry Pride Alliance fundraiser mixes socializing, cocktails and performances by dental students. Raises money for the College of Dentistry Pride Alliance’s efforts to improve LGBTQ oral health in Chicago.

Parties and Festivals
8. Elko Pride Festival, Nevada. Whether you’re tying the knot or just want to celebrate love, this festival sounds like the place to do it. Local bands, guided tours of waterfalls and local wedding planners will renew vows or assist couples ready to take the plunge. Be a part of history as the first Pride Festival Parade marches in downtown Elko.

9. Lush Party, Boston. Count it up: three DJs, four bars, two dance floors, go-go-dancers and a darn good time for everyone. Avoid the lines by getting your tickets in advance.

10. My True Colors Arts & Film Festival, New York City. Thirty-five plays, theater performances, narratives and documentaries tell the stories of LGBT lives and experiences. The festival takes place at Harlem’s Faison Firehouse Theater.

11. Annual Pride Yacht Party, Minnesota.  All aboard for dinner, cocktails and dance parties as the Majestic Star cruises the Saint Croix River. Complimentary photography and an open deck for “wind-in-your-hair selfies” make it easy to humble brag that you’re on a boat.

12. Rainbow Bowling, Colorado. If rainbow is how you roll, get together with friends and bowl. Two hours, two shoes and proceeds support pride events. What could be better?

Comedy
13. Trans Women of Color Comedy Storytelling, Oakland. Nothing brings people together quite like a good chuckle. Come out to see comedy storytelling by trans women of color. Presented by the Peacock Rebellion & Qcc, who sold-out their runs last year.

Didn’t find the event for you? Discover all LGBT pride events.

Good Causes >

9 Valentine’s Day Events You’ll Love

February 14, 2015
By Amanda Halm

Te amo. Je t’aime. Aloha wau ia ‘oe. I love you. However you say it and whomever you say it to, get out and paint the town red. From sassy shows to romantic dinners and raucous Mardi Gras parties, there’s a lot going on this month. And still plenty of time for Valentine’s Day procrastinators to get tickets.

Here are nine events you’ll love.

1. Bloody Valentine, Colorado Springs, CO. Forget candles, lingerie, conversation hearts. Nothing screams Valentine’s Day like a vampire-filled haunted house. Hold hands as you run through this heart-pounding labyrinth.

2. BollySutra Dance Party, Seattle, WA. Get closer to your date at this BollySutra dance party or go in search of a mate. Snuggle in and watch the cricket match that will be streamed in or hit the dance floor.

3. Baroque N Hearts, Seattle, WA. If you’re looking for something mellow with a melody, head to Naked City Brewery for Baroque N Hearts, music performed by a baroque soprano, flutist, cellist and harpsichordist.

4. Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Federal Way, WA. Don’t feel like dancing the night away? Watch performers from all kinds of dance move in a love-themed performance that will make your heart sing.

5. Whole Lotta Love, Sebastopol, CA. Rock Valentines with a burlesque tribute to Led Zeppelin. Show up early and share tappas with your date or stay late for the dance party after the show. A saucy date night or ideal group outing for friends celebrating singledom.

6. Valentine’s Day Cuddle Party, Los Angeles, CA.What would Valentine’s Day be without a good cuddle? Dress in theme, cuddle and then carouse with new friends at the after-party.

7. Brew of Hearts, Chicago, IL. Love beer? Embark on an Alice-esque tasting adventure with the brew of hearts. Craft beer is only one shining facet of this Chicago event. DJs, a photobooth and other surprises await.

Mardi Gras

8. Cirque Du Gras, New Orleans, LA. Maybe Mardi Gras is more your holiday. An alternative to mainstream cirque culture, Cirque Du Gras has all the clowns, fire-breathing and acrobatics with raw humor and off-beat topics thrown into the ring.

9. RAWdi Gras, New York, NY. Comedic entertainment, signature cocktails, plus a silent auction and raffle with amazing prizes.

Didn’t find what you’re looking for? Explore all of our events.

Arts >

Celebrate UNESCO World Radio Day with Us

February 13, 2015
By Amanda Halm

Community radio is something to celebrate. It brings people together, allows freedom of expression, spreads joy, music and so much more. Celebrate it today, World Radio Day, an UNESCO holiday and global series of events honoring democracy, community, education and cultural ties.

Brown Paper Tickets is doing it up big with a reception and party at Seattle Public Library (Central Branch, 10th floor) from 5-7 pm. Not only are we celebrating World Radio Day, we’re applauding the approval of 13 new radio stations in the Puget Sound, including 5 to serve the lovely city of Seattle and 2 stations awaiting approval.

Join us. Enjoy a piece of radio-tower cake. Listen to inspiring, insightful “lightning” talks from new low-power fm radio stations. Get the details on the broadcast range of the stations.

There’s still time. Register here.

“This is big news for everyone in the Puget Sound area. Nonprofits are about to have a much larger voice on local airwaves,” said Sabrina Roach, a Brown Paper Tickets Doer. Roach was recruited to the Brown Paper Tickets Doer Program after 11 years in Seattle public and community media.

Click on the map below to see all 15 new community radio stations.

Roach works on equitable community development through locally-owned communications infrastructure, such as advocacy for an open Internet, municipal broadband and the build-out of low-power FM.

Seattle’s official celebration for UNESCO’s World Radio Day is produced by Brown Paper Tickets as part of our philanthropy-in-action strategy, the Doer Program. We believe in a combination of donations (donating 5% of profits from every sale) and “doing” (the Doer Program) to maximize positive change for communities.

As a Doer, Sabrina Roach chose to support equitable community development by building nonprofit media and communications infrastructure, including community radio and municipal broadband. She led a National Make Radio challenge and she is also the director of “Upgrade Seattle: A Campaign for Equitable Public Internet.” She is also working with a grassroots community advisory group.

Industry trade publication Radio World recently published an article on how our Doer Program supports community radio.

“Like our public libraries and community centers, community radio offers hands-on access and connection, education and entertainment that feeds and strengthens our neighborhoods,” said Roach. “It adds another dimension to public services; it acts like ‘community glue,’ building bridges among unlikely groups of people representing different interests and demographics.”

News >

Fight for Fair Web Access in Seattle

January 19, 2015
By Amanda Halm

Brown Paper Tickets’ Doer, Sabrina Roach is shaking things up in mild-mannered Seattle. She’s leading a grassroots group of community activists, tech-workers and artists in a campaign to make Internet a city-owned utility. The goals are clear: improve speeds, lower prices and allow all residents Internet access.

But the campaign still needs a name and they need you to help choose it. Seattle for Equitable Internet? Internet in Seattle’s Hands? Connecting Seattle? Vote for your favorite or stretch your creative muscles and add your own suggestion. The campaign name will be revealed at a launch party for new Puget Sound radio stations on World Radio Day February 13.

The Need for Internet Speed and Access

“Nearly 20% of Seattle residents do not have any Internet access,” according to a report by the city. In our modern, tech-driven metropolis, that’s more than an inconvenience. Students may not be able to do homework assignments. Job seekers may be unable to apply to or find open positions. Small business owners may struggle against online competitors.

The same city report shows that 45% of Seattle residents who have Internet in the home want better prices. Thirty-three percent want higher speeds than offered by Seattle’s dominant providers Comcast and CenturyLink. Roach’s yet-to-be-named campaign takes a cue from smaller cities that have implemented fiber-based municipal broadband: Cedar Falls, Iowa and Chattanooga, Tennessee.

In a recent video, a preview of his upcoming State of the Union address, President Obama points to these two towns as examples of municipal broadband done right. And fast—at 1,000 mega bits per second, both communities’ services are on par speed-wise with Paris and Tokyo.

Although Seattle is considerably larger than Cedar Falls and Chattanooga, it has some of the necessary infrastructure already in place, which would make things considerably easier. In a January interview with The Stranger, Roach says “there are 550 miles of city-owned fiber-optic cable already in the ground. We just need to connect it to homes and businesses.”

550 miles? Who knew? Help name the campaign or get involved with our Doer’s efforts.

Photo credit: Anupam via Flickr

News >

10 Event Trends to Watch in 2015

December 26, 2014
By Amanda Halm

Whether it rocked or rolled, 2014 is about to be history. Time to look to the year ahead. A deep gaze into a crystal ball and discussions with Brown Paper Tickets‘ event specialists indicate that 2015 is going to be a pivotal year for events.

We narrowed it down to just 10 trends.

1. Alternative Venues

2015 will be the year to go wild with venues. Seattle Living Room Shows is a stellar example. In a matter of a few hours, the Watt sisters transform a room into a concert space with lights, mics and musicians. Sold-out crowds adore it because quaint quarters allow them to get up close and personal with their favorite bands.

Film festivals are using alternative venues too. Couch Fest brings strangers together to watch short films in living rooms, community centers—even boats. Where there’s a couch, there’s a gathering.

2. Restaurants Pop Up in Strange Places
Tacos from a train car. Hot dogs from a hot air balloon. Seafood from a submarine. Pop-up restaurants, underground suppers and food trucks aren’t a new phenomenon, but expect to see more mixed-use spaces and unusual eateries in 2015. There’s also a continued interest in tasting menus, where chefs curate a unique dining experience.

3. Butcher. Baker. Candlestick Maker.
Home-brewing, bee-keeping and canning classes were all the rage with the rise of DIY the past few years. In 2015, classes will feature a more … sanguinary aspect of agriculture: chicken processing and hog butchering. People not only want to know where their food comes from, they want to learn how to process it.

Bakers are now offering classes with a diet spin, like this gluten-free pie making class.

4. Pickled, Brothing + Beet Yogurt… Oh My!
Prepare for more pickled, fermented, cured. Our Food and Drink Specialist, Patrick Nelson reports, “Chefs are getting back to their roots by making vinegars and other mouth-puckering goodies.”

Brothing is a food fad coming to a mug near you. That’s right—instead of coffee, you might see passersby sipping, slurping and savoring morning broth. New York-based Brodo serves broth by the cup and it’s catching on.

More and more, health-conscious consumers realize the importance of veggies. Ugly root vegetables will be en vogue in 2015. And according to this 2015 food trend report, vegetable yogurt is on the table next year. Carrot. Beet. Butternut Squash. Mmmm … ? Events, caterers, chefs, even festivals will serve up surprising concoctions while guests mingle and feast.

5. Wearable Technologies Geekify Events
James Bond or Jetsons. Whatever visions dance in your head when you think of tiny devices surreptitiously strapped to a body, the future is now. Google Glass gleeks have multiplied while privacy issues seem to fade. Wrist-hugging fitness trackers will tell more event goers how many steps or calories they scored since walking in a door or ending an evening (“I burned 500 calories at this event. Sweet.”) Apple plans to release a stylish smart watch in spring. 2015—the year of the body gadget.

6. Marijuana, the New Merlot
We said it before and we will say it again: marijuana is the new merlot. More cannabis event organizers will sprout up to take advantage of recently passed state laws in Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon. Getting high will go high class, as pot sheds its stoner mystic. We might not be too far off from smoke-up tents at the symphony.

Oh wait—that’s already happened.

7. Live Pic is the New Live Tweet
“Pictures or it didn’t happen” is so 2012. In 2015, we’ll see more pictures as it happens. In 2014, Instagram surpassed Twitter’s active users with 300 million compared to Twitter’s 284 million. Live photo sharing from events is a creative, visually enticing way to engage.

This dancer used social media to promote her event and gave a little love to #brownpapertickets. You are following us, aren’t you? Ahem.

Expect to see super sleek photo booth: OnomonoMEDIA popping up at events. It allows photo sharing right from the booth and is hugely popular at corporate events.

8. Events with Social Impact
As the Not-Just-For-Profit Ticketing Company, we’re thrilled to report that giving back is going strong into 2015. Perhaps taking a cue from TOMS Shoes, restaurants are offering the option to buy a meal and donate a meal to the hungry. Event organizers are setting up “giving” tables to collect goods while people enter the event. Couples are making charity a part of their wedding celebrations.

Resolve to give more in 2015? Our fee-free donation tool can help maximize the money you raise for good causes.

9. The End of Waiting
Imagine ordering a banana split and eating it in split seconds. Will 2015 bring the end of waiting in line? New customer-facing apps are coming out rapidly to meet the demands of mobile-wielding millennials. Club-goers want to customize their cocktails from where they’re standing, strut to the bar and have them ready. Love or loathe it, more apps for the increasingly impatient are coming out in 2015.

10. Planes, Trains, Uber-Mobiles
Ride services like Uber and Lyft passed the initial “early adopter” phase and will be more mainstream in the coming year. Definitely expect the cab line to get shorter as more and more will get to and from events using these slick services.

Wishing you the best in 2015. What do you think the next big thing is? Ring in below and help us ring in the New Year.

Event Tips >

New Research: Independent Musicians Face New Challenges in Digital Age

December 11, 2014
By Amanda Halm

You heard the rumors: there’s no money in music anymore. Bassist, drummer, keytarist. You are hosed. The only music you’ll make is the tap, tap, tap drumming your fingers on the surface of your cubicle-enclosed desk.

Or not. You’ve probably also heard that the digital age offers a wide-open creative landscape replete with opportunities, free from corporate interest. Send music to fans on the opposite side of the world in mere minutes. Make an album at home, in your jammies with your own recording software. Put it on an online streaming service, promote it and watch the dollars roll in.

Wait—which one is right? Maybe it’s time to take a more scientific look at indie musicians in the digital age.

Brown Paper Tickets Music Doer, Billy Geoghegan and University of Central Florida Professor Kevin Meehan, PhD co-authored the published paper, “DIY Noise and Compositional Horizons: Indie Musicians and Promoters in the Age of Digital Reproduction.” Other studies on music in the digital age zero in on high-profile artists. Geoghegan and Meehan explore digital reproduction at the grassroots level, “where smaller, independent, emerging and DIY musicians operate.”

Their research shows that while digital technology means that the cost of recording, manufacturing and distributing have dramatically decreased; corporate control and mindset still are an issue—even with DIY and independent musicians.

Musicians, creative types, digital entrepreneurs will likely relate to this research published in summer of 2014.

The authors conducted surveys with indie musicians and promoters and used a breadth of sources for their research. Attali’s Noise: The Political Economy of Music provides the framework for the argument. Geoghegan contributed anecdotes from decades of experience in indie records, live shows, booking and managing tours.

Indie Musician Research Highlights
The essay covers sound quality, promotions and what the emphasis on touring means for the future of the musician. For purposes of one brief blog, it would be impossible to include everything, so here are a few key findings:

Artist-Audience Relationship Changed with Digital Tools Like Social Media
In the study, 75% of quantitative survey respondents agreed that digital technology improved the artist-audience relationship—ease of reaching fans was found in the top pros of digital technology.

But respondents of the qualitative survey felt that though social networking helps promotions, the interactions aren’t authentic. A quotation from one survey respondent, “It’s still all about networking, and pre-digital networking may have been less convenient and less far-reaching but each connection had more gravity behind it.”

Building Fans and Notoriety More Complex Now
Some survey participants expressed that digital technology actually makes it more difficult to attract fans and there’s more pressure to conform to corporate business models. “There is more, not less, pressure to succumb to having PR, a tour manager, and all that because the music press, the blogs, the venues, and the local promoters are increasingly less likely to respond to an inquiry from an actual band … the pressure to take on some kind of business model from above has been increased rather than decreased by digital technology.”

Don’t be shy. Comment away with your thoughts and experiences. What have indie musicians gained and lost in the digital age?

Music >

Giving Refugees a Helping Handshake

December 3, 2014
By Amanda Halm

Language barriers. Financial worries. Finding a job. Refugees face enormous hardships, especially during the first few months in the U.S. On Giving Tuesday, a group from Brown Paper Tickets visited the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Seattle to facilitate mock job interviews with a refugee group who just arrived to the U.S. a few weeks ago.

Brown Paper Tickets allows every employee to use an extra 40 paid hours per year to give back to the community via nonprofit volunteering. Through this benefit, we’ve collaborated with some amazing organizations and met some inspiring people.

Founded in 1933 at Albert Einstein’s request, the IRC offers emergency aid and assistance to refugees and those displaced by war. The IRC works in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, restoring safety and hope.

We joined the IRC for a day of job readiness training unsure what to expect. We left with a deep admiration for the participants and the realization that despite different backgrounds, we face similar challenges at new jobs.

To break the ice, we went around the room and dished about our first jobs. A volunteer from our group told us about biking through a treacherous blizzard to deliver newspapers. One of the refugees shared a story about fighting off feral dogs while carrying large bags of food. The anecdotes varied wildly from sad to funny, but the takeaways were similar. Everyone made mistakes and felt unprepared at their first jobs.

After the round of introductions and stories, we began mock interviewing. We practiced standard questions, such as “what are your strengths?” and exchanged ideas on what U.S. employers look for in candidates. Eye contact and strong handshakes are not a custom practice everywhere and relaying skills, even to a prospective employer can feel very uncomfortable to those from other countries.

The room filled with nervous laughter as we went through the questions and shared interview tips. As we started to pack up our stuff, one man said, “The IRC are our first American friends. You are the second. Are we going to be friends for life?”

Whoa, that made it hard to leave. But they’re in good hands with the IRC. And we had such a positive, rewarding experience, we know we’ll return one day.

Good Causes >

12 Ways of Giving and a Message of Gratitude

November 30, 2014
By Amanda Halm

This Giving Tuesday (and everyday), Brown Paper Tickets is grateful.

Before we get to the season of turtle doves and French hens, we’re taking a gratitude pause to reflect on the little things that aren’t little at all. Food and water. Speaking without fear. Reading, writing, dancing, singing. Health. Safety. View our UNselfie video or see it posted below.

Read on for 12 ways of giving and find charity and fundraising events in your area.

1. Give Time

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 62.6 million people volunteered through or for an organization at least once between September 2012 and 2013. Volunteering may not require an intensive time commitment—there are walk-a-thons, community gardens, outreach and all kinds of one-day activities.

Volunteers often come away from the experience with lasting friendships, perspective and maybe even improved health. The Corporation for National & Community Service reports that those who volunteer have lower mortality and depression rates and feel more connected to the community.

Check out Volunteer Match to find a volunteer opportunity that matches your interests and schedule.

Throw a Fundraiser

Or put the fun into fundraising—organize an amazing, out-of-the-box, knock-their-socks off concert, performance or dinner to raise money for causes. Learn how you can use our Fee-Free Donation Tool to set up your page and collect funds with or without selling tickets.

Some examples of creative fundraising:

2. Have a Wine Competition

Put your palate to the test with competitive wine tasting. Form teams and have them bring two identical bottles of wine then do a blind taste test. Proceeds go to a good cause.

3. Laugh Out Loud with a Comedy Cabaret
Your charity event doesn’t have to be a bake sale or a black-tie benefit. You can make people laugh and raise money like this comedy cabaret that helps Team Towanda Foundation, a non-profit that provides women in need with funding for mammograms and other health services.

4. Stir Things Up with a Cook-off

If you’re planning a food-related charity event, stir things up by adding a competitive element. In Holiday Chefs Challenge, an event in North Carolina that benefits food banks, chefs compete to create delectable appetizers, desserts or entrees based on a list of everyday items distributed by the food bank.

5. Dance-a-Thon

Want to get physical with your charity fundraiser? Think outside the 5k. Shimmy, shake and move for a good cause with a dance off or dance-a-thon. You could even theme it to the dance like Zumbathon.

6. Treat a Veteran

Give military members a well-deserved night of entertainment. Brown Paper Tickets Salutes is a partnership with Veteran Tickets Foundation that donates event tickets to active military men and women, veterans and family members of those who gave their lives.

7. Give Tickets to a Charity or Holiday Happening

Tickets make great gifts. They are more personalized than sweaters, almost guaranteed to be used and don’t clutter up the house. Buy your friend or loved one tickets to a charity or holiday happening and give back with your gift. Some ideas:

8. Broads for Bones
For your friend who loves to laugh, give tickets to see some of Los Angeles’ funniest women and help raise money for Ankylosing Spondylitis, a crippling bone disease. The hilarious line-up includes top-tier comedians, directors and television writers.

9. Green Generations Holiday Party
Send your favorite environmentalist to a swanky celebration with a signature cocktail and silent auction. Proceeds help Green Generations, Inc. an organization that teaches NYC children about sustainability.

10. Meowy Catmas Cat Circus
Surprise the cat-lover in your life with tickets to see acrocats walk tightropes, perform death-defying jumps with the greatest of ease and yes, rock out on keyboards and drums. A portion of ticket sales goes toward cat rescue and the organizer strongly advocates adoption.

11. The Nutcracker
Bestow the gift of holiday ballet magic and sugar plum fairies while supporting the Alameda Civic Ballet, a non-profit and charitable organization.

12. Happy Giving
Who doesn’t love happy hour? When it’s for a great cause, it’s even happier. Enjoy wine, beer and appetizers while benefiting the Head Start program. Bring a toy and take joy in the act of giving.

We hope you enjoy our video. Feel free to share.

Good Causes >

20 Creative Ways to Support Small Business Saturday

November 24, 2014
By Amanda Halm

Brown Paper Tickets is big on small business—shops, restaurants, theaters, local makers, movers and shakers. We were the first solution for small businesses to ticket events for free and we continue to offer a wealth of free resources and services to events of any size.

November 29 is Small Business Saturday. Discover what’s new in your neighborhood. Catch a band in your town. Buy gifts at a local craft fair. See what’s shakin’ at the local theater. Shop microbreweries and distilleries.

According to the Retail Merchants Association, for every $1 spent at local businesses, 45 cents is reinvested locally vs. 15 cents or less from non-local purchases. Local stores also tend to hire local people and make neighborhoods more visually appealing.

Not sure where to begin? Here are 20 creative ideas:

San Francisco
1. Take a tour
Relatives in town for the holidays? See your city with fresh eyes and support local tourism with an eclectic walking and riding tour. Learn about local architecture and explore the impact of the Gold Rush.

2. Sign up for sake class
Love sake, but aren’t sure whether it should be warm or cold or what to eat it with? Take a sake education class with friends and support a Japanese eatery at the same time.

Los Angeles
3. See, cook, learn
Fascinated by Samurais? Tour the renowned LACMA Samurai exhibit and then get schooled on Japanese cooking techniques at Surfas in Culver City.

4. Catch a Krampus fashion show
Krampus walks are now a thing here in the US. Add a devilish scare to your holiday reverie by watching locally made Krampus costumes take the runway at the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles.

Seattle
5. Support local theater
There are so many great indie theaters to support; we couldn’t possibly name them all. But this one struck our nostalgic side. Revisit old favorites from the Twilight Zone Live on-stage at Theater Schmeater.

6. Enjoy craft brews + burlesque
Can’t choose if you want to support local beer or local beauties? Do both. Check out Revelry—Seattle’s only Monday night burlesque revue.

New York City
7. Take a bite
New Yorkers are serious about bagels. Explore neighborhood bagel shops and sweeteries with this unique food tour that works around your schedule.

8. Go to the Olde Grand Market
Celebrate the holidays and support a local performing arts center at the Grand Market celebration in Queens. Face painting, holiday portraits and more await.

Chicago
9. Drink in “A Beer Carol”
Drinking and writing tends to go hand-in-pen. A Beer Carol at the Haymarket Brew Pub combines them both with a theatrical output from craft beer advocates. One reviewer describes it as “awesome and tasty too.”

10. Visit your local Santa
Avoid long lines at the mall to see Santa and support a local bookstore with an Evening with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Miami
11. Pop-in to a pop-up dinner
Chef Bradley Kilgore is opening a restaurant in Wynwood named Alter. Sample an exclusive 4-course fixed menu and help support a new spot.

12. Show regional writers some love
Watch a battle of wits go down at the Laboratory Theater of Florida. In this 24-hour playwriting project, 5 playwrites are given a theme, director and actors. The audience gets to see the writers’ visions come to life when the plays are performed on stage.

Washington, DC
13. Spot the liar
Another great indie theater event in the District of Columbia. Four storytellers tell a story and only one is true. Vote and interrogate. Brace for the truth—it may be shocking.

14. Laugh locally
Need a laugh? Support the DC Arts Center by going to see local improv. Separate Beds is a senior-level improv show, so you’re practically guaranteed a few giggles.

Boston
15. Catch a cabaret show
There’s no place like home. Recapture the magic seeing this Judy Garland cabaret concert by a critically acclaimed tribute artist.

16. Get to know the North End
Boston is arguably one of the best food towns in the US. Take a neighborhood food tour and get to know the North End’s Italian fare. Find out about new restaurants and established ones you might not have heard about.

Austin
17. Go nuts
Do “The Nutcracker,” Austin-style with the Invisible Czars. Audience members are encouraged to dress up and let loose. Prizes are given out to the wearer of the best holiday costume and more.

18. Revisit a classic
Instead of big-box cinema, see a play. Bring the family out to see “Ebenezer’s Journey”—an interactive theatrical presentation in the old buildings of Pioneer Farms.

Denver
19. Sip brew made near you
Take a two-hour guided walking tour to the best local breweries in the historic LoDo. Learn the history of beer, how it’s made and maybe pick up a one-of-a-kind gift for the beer lover.

20. Brunch like a local
Forget mimosas. Drink 5 excellent Local Relic beers paired with brunched-up food at the Colorado House in Colorado Springs.

Comment below with your own ideas on shopping or supporting Small Business Saturday.

Photo 1: Shopping in Austin
Photo 2: Literary Affairs event

Event Tips >

Top 5 SEO Tips for Event Planners

October 28, 2014
By Amanda Halm

George Freitag swooped in to the Brown Paper Tickets community space to teach event planners search engine optimization. He wasn’t wearing a cape, but we’re pretty sure he’s some type of SEO superhero.

Exhibit A: he has a wealth of experience listed on his website. B: He works for Portent, Inc. an 18-year-old digital marketing firm based in Seattle. C: He gave free advice and tools event planners and promoters can use to achieve higher rankings, sell out shows, kick butt online. In short, he knocked our socks off. Then just as quickly as he appeared, he vanished into the gray Seattle sky, not even helping himself to a doughnut.

SEO Basics for Your Events

1. Be online
Be findable. It may seem obvious, but nonetheless, it is a good place to start. Your event needs to live on a permanent website or page, so fans and prospective attendees can find you. Create a website or page or at minimum, fill out all the fields when you create your event page.

You’re not done yet. Make sure your website or page has text, as search engines like Google cannot read text on an image file, so simply uploading your band’s flier to a website won’t do much to improve organic traffic.

Freitag’s test: see if you can copy and paste the text. If you cannot, search engines won’t be able to read it.

2. Be useful
Details, details, details. Add the event name, date and time, location and other need-to-know information. But don’t copy and paste the description from one site to the next – search engines see this as spammy, useless duplicate content. Craft new event descriptions for every page and site listing your event.

Add a call to action (CTA). Visitors to your event page need to know where to buy tickets, so make sure you have a nice bright button or text link. Buy Now. Register Today. Sign Up for This Crazy Awesome Event. Brown Paper Tickets lets you embed a CTA button or text link right onto your webpage.

When setting up your event, you can put one of these buttons right on your site:

You can contact us 24/7 if you need help setting up your event on our site.

3. Be relevant
Say you just got back from Paris where you learned to soufflé with the best of the best and you now you want to teach a French cooking class.

How will prospective attendees find your class? You have to talk the talk. Use words in your descriptions people will use to search for classes. In the SEO-sphere, these are called keywords.

How do you find keywords? Search on Google for “French cooking course” and scroll to the bottom to see suggested search terms. Or use Ubersuggest to see popular searched-on terms. Look for terms that get a lot of traffic, but aren’t too competitive. Find out whether it’s better to use the term “course” or “class” or other words in your event title and description.

Don’t overuse keywords though. Use them naturally – sprinkle them in.

Don’t do this: Want to come to my French cooking class? Please come to my French cooking class. My French cooking class is January 3.

Freitag recommends Google Webmaster Tools so that you can check in on your SEO efforts, conduct keyword research and understand how others are finding your site.

4. Be popular

After the workshop, we practiced “being popular.” Follow us on Twitter and join in on the fun.

Search engines favor popular sites that have a lot of high-quality links, mentions, shares. A few marketing and social media efforts can help you become naturally popular online.

Link your event page on our site to your web page. Have a good PR plan in place to attract media attentions and mentions from journalists. Submit your event to calendar listings. Freitag said to “get as niche or regional as you can.” He also advises to include display buttons, so your friends, fans, and others can share your Zombie flash dance, punk poetry slam or whatever you have going on.

5. Be pretty
Freitag said, “Yes, we mean be pretty in the most superficial way possible.” Make sure you have clean event titles that use 50-65 characters. Title tags have a direct impact on your rankings (how high you are on the page), so pick a title carefully. Your meta description does not have an impact on your ranking, so you don’t need to worry so much about keywords, but make sure it’s grammatically clean and includes all the important details because it will be pulled in when people search for your event.

Use the Portent SERP Preview Tool to preview what your event listing will look like in search results.

And remember, the more “popular” you are, the better. So make sure when people share your content, it’s looking sharp. Freitag recommends Twitter Card to beautify your content when it is shared.

And more:

Freitag gave event planners so much useful advice, we couldn’t possibly list it all. View his whole presentation and comment with your own thoughts on SEO.

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