Evolve Technology LLC, the Orlando based live events distribution and rental company is looking to give back to a community that is being heavily impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. For those outsides of the industry, it may not seem obvious but as more events are getting canceled another sector of our economy and workforce is being hit hard by Covid-19.

Some local governments are restricting large events. Governor Inslee of Washington State has ordered a halt to any events of 250 people or more in three Seattle area counties while NY Governor Andrew Cuomo has banned gatherings of 500 or more. Political campaign events are getting canceled in favor of virtual options. Sporting events are getting canceled or postponed. Even some of the nation’s biggest events have been impacted, SXSW was canceled and Coachella has been postponed until fall.

This series of cancellations is putting technicians, particularly freelancers on edge. On social media you get a glimpse at the impact; technicians’ and engineers’ posting about show cancellations several weeks out. Comment threads discuss how people are weathering the storm, what they’re doing to supplement their income, or what they have done to prepare themselves.

Regardless of how long someone has been in the industry, how much money they have saved, or what they are doing to supplement their income there is a lot of anxiety about how long this pandemic will affect the live events industry. Will it be weeks or months, will InfoComm happen?

Fortunately, people in the industry are coming together, sharing ideas for how to ride it out and make money in the meantime. Evolve sees this slow period as an opportunity for technicians to gain more skills so that when shows pick back up they’re able to take more gigs and make more money. Evolve will offer several free workshops during the month of April, “We are very hopeful that things will start returning to normal in May. Should the impact continue we will look at expanding this program into the coming months.” said Tyler Mayne, CEO of Evolve. Tyler continued:

“We are seeing the cancellations; we are experiencing them too. I decided that we needed to focus on what we can do rather than the things we can’t control. By offering classes we’re giving technicians the tools to return stronger after the storm. I was a freelance technician for many years, that’s how I put food on the table and provided for my family. I remember the impact 9/11 and the 2008 recession had on our industry. When it comes to things that are out of our control all we can do is prepare so we can bounce back faster and hit the ground running and that’s what we are trying to help with.”

The workshops will be held at Evolve’s Orlando and Las Vegas offices. Technicians’ can register for free by entering the discount code “AllForOne” at checkout.