That’s why some Bemidji area businesses and organizations are planning to shine a light on the issue from 9 p.m. to midnight on Tuesday, Sept. 1. It’s part of a nationwide effort known as Red Alert RESTART #WeMakeEvents.
“It’s easy for people to say these performers aren’t working or maybe these stage hands or technicians aren’t working,” said Ben Stowe, president and founder of Bemidji-based NLFX Professional. “But the truth is it’s so many more. Technicians, programmers, stagehands, truck drivers, and then that second layer, distributors, warehouse workers, concessions workers. This is a global issue. The virus is global and so are the consequences.”
NLFX Professional, located in the Bemidji Industrial Park, supplies audio, video, lights, conferencing equipment and instruments throughout the United States. It also houses a retail music store and a learning center to hold training for staff and customers.
Stowe said the company plans to shine a red light on its building at 1319 Naylor Drive SE on Tuesday night. He said the Sanford Center plans to change its LED lights to red, and some of the marquee lights at the Paul Bunyan Playhouse will be red. At least two recording studios, Supple Studios at 2407 Birchmont Drive NE, and Flying Dog Studio in Pennington, also plan to participate, Stowe said.
“We will be lighting our buildings red and projecting the #WeMakeEvents images on them as a sign of support and solidarity for the millions of people who work in the arts and events industry,” Stowe said, “94% of whom are reported to be unemployed or have income loss.”
The Red Alert effort hopes to shine a light on legislation pending in Congress (the RESTART Act) which may provide some relief to the industry.
“We were the first industry impacted and will be the last to recover,” Stowe said. “I know that many businesses in Bemidji and around the world are impacted, and that what affects one of us affects all of us.
"I am very proud of the ways that the Bemidji business community has rallied to show support for one another, and we feel the Red Alert day is a way we can show support for the community of musicians, technicians, stagehands, studio and production workers who are deeply impacted right now.”
Stowe said the arts and culture industry contributes $877 billion to the U.S. economy each year.
“I don’t expect Congress to care about whether we turn our lights on or not,” he said. “It’s more about showing the rest of the industry that we are a community and we’re standing together. If you see enough of that around the country I think it helps to not feel quite so alone. I see it on everybody’s face. How can you not be concerned about this?”
Stowe’s 27-year-old business has taken a devastating hit since March when the pandemic shut things down.
NLFX Professional has contracts with national sporting events like the College Baseball World Series and NCAA basketball tournaments. It also provides technology and equipment for college athletic programs and national concert tours. Locally and regionally, the company does sound and lighting for concerts and events at the Sanford Center in Bemidji and the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Since March, all of that work has been canceled, along with the company’s largest annual trade show in Las Vegas.
“In March we saw basically $1 million just get wiped off the books,” Stowe said.
He has not had to reduce his full-time workforce yet, but Stowe isn’t sure how much longer he can avoid it.
“No business is built to go without revenue for a year,” Stowe said. “Many are struggling to go without revenue for a couple of months. We’ve already seen a number of bankruptcies, we’re very likely to see many more. When will you feel comfortable going to an arena with 10,000 people to watch a concert again?
“Every aspect of our business was impacted,” he added. “Every single thing we do involves putting people together in groups. And we’re not alone. We’re the big fish in Bemidji, and our fingerprints are on events around the country. But ultimately this is a plight shared by millions of people.”
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August 28, 2020 at 11:00PM
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Shining a light on pandemic's impact on arts and events industry - Bemidji Pioneer
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