PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The immediate future of live events is still uncertain because of the pandemic. It's no surprise the industry has faced devastating impacts this year.
However, a private venue west of Boca Raton is helping to revive it safely.
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A coalition formed during the pandemic is working with a local venue to bring back live events.
Shire Stables is a new private event venue located west of 441 and south of Yamato Road in southern Palm Beach County.
"Hopefully, we can bring hope to the event industry," said Rebekah Watkins, the owner of The Shire Stables. "We had this going, and the pandemic hit, and I'm like, 'We can use this to bring hope to people.'"
The Shire Stables will come alive Thursday night with music, food, and most importantly people, as the Live Events Coalition hosts a fundraiser for the struggling industry.
"They started after the pandemic hit, and nationally they already have over 12 million members. They are a voice for the event industry that was hit the hardest, and they’re going to be the last to come back," said Watkins said.
Thursday's gathering is the first official event at the Shire Stables since the pandemic started. Their hope is that soon they will get to host private events and weddings.
Watkins is working with H30 Solutions to "mistify" all event attendants as they enter.
"This is just water, salt and electricity, so the greatest thing about this product is you spray it right in your eyes, right in your mouth, and it can’t hurt you," said Kevin Boyle of H30 Solutions.
Though Boyle doesn’t tout that it can kill viruses, he says the solution does act as a disinfectant and helps cleanse the air.
Watkins hopes the event, which runs from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., will kickstart confidence to gather again.
"We want it to be magical so that people can have a venue here, and then we have all this grass you can sit in, and we're outside so you can still enjoy the things in life again,” said Watkins.