Over the years, TechFest has been a Stevens tradition hosted by the Entertainment Committee (EC). Last year, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, EC was unable to plan the event, but this year, they’re back with the festivities. In a virtual environment, many changes have been made to shift this interactive event online.
This year, the TechFest team consists of Olivia Scott serving as TechFest Chair, Garrett Horwath as EC’s President, Julia Dwight as the On-campus VP, and Karen Broytman serving as the Music Chair. Danielle Maxson, the Student Life advisor, also contributed heavily to the planning process.
For the planners, navigating the shift online has been a difficult process, but engagement and attendance were the main initial concerns. Performances online tend to attract lower attendance compared to in-person activities, and after a year of online classes, students suffer from media fatigue, specifically Zoom burnout. On the bright side, according to Broytman, the online environment has allowed the team to explore and get in touch with artists that may not have been possible in an in-person environment. Scott reiterated in a voice memo, “As much as the virtual environment does kind of suck…it’s really cool that we have these new opportunities as far as the live Q&As.” She also added, “it’s not like a professional interview…[you could talk to these artists about] fun things, dumb things that you would talk to your friends about.”
Another issue the team faced online was communication between members with different schedules. Horwath added that in previous years, they would meet in a physical location multiple times a week to share ideas and run over all aspects of the planning. Now with campus closed to most students, they are meeting virtually and see communication as their top priority.
This year’s TechFest took months of planning even without the typical in-person music festival. Some tasks like arranging the stage, delivering food, or hiring additional staff were avoidable for this virtual event. According to Karen Broytman, the “final vision [came] in the fall semester.” With a focus on multiple artists, the festival could not start until the artists’ contracts were reviewed and all parties were on the same page. To achieve that, the TechFest team had to reach out to multiple parties, including agents from previous years’ TechFests, the student body, and the Stevens administration for approval. Similar to previous years, budget and availability were two important constraints that were taken into account during the artist recruiting process.
The team, who has always played a substantial role in choosing the performers, sent out surveys to the student body to gather information on particular artists, genres, and show formats that students would enjoy. To navigate the nature of this virtual environment, the team decided that instead of one big event, TechFest would be “transform[ed] into a multi-show series…consist[ing] of several virtual concerts followed by Q&As with the artists, spanning several genres,” as stated on an Instagram post from EC. Scott added, “we [hope to] appeal to more people so that there is at least one show that everyone’s really excited for.”
In addition to the new event format, the TechFest team also partnered with Stevens WCPR Castle Point Radio. They hope to increase participation with regular giveaways and prizes.
To learn more and to participate, details can be found in emails from EC. For regular updates on TechFest 2021, check out EC’s Instagram page, @stevens_ec and WCPR Castle Point Radio’s Instagram page, @wcpr740.
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