Make Your Event Corona Resilient

Make Your Event Corona Resilient

November 11, 2020

We work hard to reduce the stress of having an event. If you're planning an event for any time in the next year, COVID-19 has almost certainly added some stress. Here are all the reasons it can be OK.

This virus and the accompanying safety guidelines are constantly changing, but we have learned over the past almost eight months that we are able to adapt to a wide range of restrictions and situations to keep your event running and you and your guests safe. Currently, The Riley County Health Department has removed all restrictions except the mask mandate.  We're still committed to helping you host a safe event, and several features of Blue Vista help facilitate this:

Indoor Space:

Blue Vista is one of the largest indoor venues in the greater Manhattan, KS area. With 5,000 square feet in our main event space, we have the floor space to fit a large crowd while maintaining the recommended guidelines of 6-ft. between all tables. With this spacing (see image below), we are able to seat 232 guests comfortably banquet-style indoors, and up to 288 total people with a few tradeoffs (like a smaller dance floor) if you need as many people as possible.

 

Of course, you can seat more in warmer months and still follow the current guidelines if you also use the large outdoor patio areas on the East and South sides of Cedar Pavilion for seating or buffet lines, etc.

You may also have guests who want to attend that may be at higher risk (or live with someone who is at higher risk) for virus complications. In the Cedar Pavilion, our 2nd floor balcony and 3rd floor mezzanine levels overlook the main event space, providing physically distant seating for up to 32 people so your guests can be part of the event without being too close.

In our Lodge, you can hold a small gathering of up to 72 people seated banquet-style. Currently, Riley County does not require physical distancing, although it is recommended. With physically distanced banquet seating, the Hearth Room of the Lodge can hold 42 people. The Lodge also has a front patio space and a very large deck off of the Hearth Room for use to expand capacity in warmer weather. Creative hosts have also used the first floor apartment right off the hearth Room for a Buffet line or additional seating.

Photo Credit: Emma York Photography

Outdoor Space:

We usually are wanting to make sure we have indoor options for outdoor events in case of bad weather, but with the pandemic, we’re finding it more important to have outdoor flexible areas for indoor events. To lower the risk of your guests catching the virus from other guests, use outdoor spaces to keep guests entertained (e.g., yard games, a bonfire, sparklers), have a cocktail hour in the cool evening breeze, or dance under the stars. We have large, grassy spaces outside both the Cedar Pavilion and The Lodge. Or, if you want to do a tented or open-air event, the Rose Quarry grassy area is just south of Cedar Pavilion offers breathtaking views of Tuttle Creek lake and can seat 500 guests or more (if not everyone is under a tent) seated banquet-style with tables 6 ft. apart.
Photo Credit: Little Bird Photography
The Tallgrass Prairie on a crest just south of The Lodge also offers majestic views and could seat 80 people physically distanced banquet-style.
Tallgrass Meadow

 

Clean Air:

Another thing to consider when choosing an indoor event space is total air volume. Research on COVID-19 transmission rates indicate that large total air volume and good circulation slow the spread of the virus. Spaces with a large air volume make it much harder for droplets to build up over time, and we have high ceilings in both our large and small event spaces (38 ft. high in Cedar Pavilion and 20 ft. high in the Lodge's Hearth Room). We have also upgraded our air handling equipment with enhanced filters that can remove viral particles from the air. We have large ceiling fans in both the Cedar Pavilion and Lodge event spaces, and when the weather is accommodating, allow doors and windows to be open to create a lovely cross-breeze.

Masks:

Masks can be a sensitive topic, but they don't have to ruin your event! Masks that match your wedding theme may be the new custom coozy or napkin. There are many options on the internet to create custom masks to match the colors and theme of your event - you can even ask your vendors to wear your custom masks to continue the look and feel. Blue Vista staff will always be wearing masks when interacting with you or your guests as long as this pandemic is in place to ensure your safety. Additionally, we require guests to wear masks when approaching our staff (like coming up to the bar if we are bartending) to keep our staff healthy and able to continue serving our patrons. 

Digital Guests:

Whether there is difficulty travelling or it would be too risky for some of your guests to attend in person, many events are choosing to add a livestreaming component to include as many people as possible. We are lucky to have extremely fast internet service and Wi-Fi at both our buildings to help make that possible, and for outdoor events, our Rose Quarry area has excellent coverage from all major cell carriers we've tried.
 

Flexibility:

While we need to follow the CDC and Health Department guidelines, we will always think through issues and work with you if you have a creative solution you'd like to try! And should you need to reschedule because key guests cannot travel or you do not feel safe, or there is a shutdown in place, we do NOT charge a rescheduling fee and will help you think through any adaptations you need to make. For example, some of our event hosts have wanted to downsize, or move their event to a later date to be able to upsize, or change indoor and outdoor components, or have the ceremony now and the reception later, or even switch buildings (when not otherwise booked, of course). Our job is to use our relationships with local vendors, and our knowledge of our property, the many ways others have found solutions that worked for them, and the current state and county guidelines to help you navigate the changing circumstances. 

 

If you're planning an event and are curious exactly how it could look at Blue Vista, please give us a call or schedule a tour - we'd love to help make it happen!


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