2024 CONFERENCE - DAY 3
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
SESSIONS
Caring for People on the Dance Floor: Shambhala Music Festival's Pioneering Approach to Public Safety | Simon Hunt, Stacey Lock
With a rich history spanning 25 years, Shambhala Music Festival has consistently led the way in pioneering mass gathering event safety with its innovative public safety programs. At the heart of the festival, simply stated, “It’s all about the people on the dancefloor.” Stemming from the core values of care and acceptance, its full-spectrum harm reduction services and programs have evolved to meet the needs of its participants. These programs integrate into its expansive and collaborative public safety department, which is supported by Medical, Security, Fire/Rescue, Traffic Control, Site, and Health and Safety programs. Our aim is to inspire and inform you about Shambhala Music Festival’s pioneering approach to public safety. We strongly emphasize our harm reduction services, which are a testament to our proactive culture of care affectionately known as “Shambha-Love.”
Myth Busters! Debunking Misconceptions Around Psychological Safety | Alice Ride (moderator), Masha Birkby, Stacey Forrester, Dagan Nish
In this session we will unpack the myths and misconceptions around what it really means to apply psychological safety supports and education in the workplace, what that looks like for employers and employees, and how it impacts both work environments and your bottom line. Each panelist will provide real life examples that they have encountered while working in this space to help attendees understand the importance of ensuring your team is psychologically safe. Bring your questions and curiosities!
Motivating Your Volunteers to be Event Safety Champions | Tina Allmark (moderator), Tami Richter, Chris Troyanos
Session Description Coming Soon!
Safer, Healthier, More Reliable - It's almost always better to ditch the diesel | Neel Vasavada
An exposition on Overdrive's findings over 60+ events where we challenge conventional wisdom on powering events. Using battery storage to leverage grid power, solar energy or minimize generator use nearly always results in a safer, healthier power solution for our shows. Diesel power generation involves serious compromises we have learned to accept through 100 years of lacking better options. Most counters to this claim are routed in misinformation. These claims are backed by empirical data and actual results at live events.
The Psychology of Stupidity | Dominic Housiaux
Exploring the Psychology behind Accidents, Failures & “Stupid Mistakes”.
Peer to Peer Conversations for Leaders, Supervisors, Workers, Volunteers and Students | ESAC Board of Directors & Friends
Session Description Coming Soon!
The Empowered Workforce: When workers know more about safety regulations than their employers do | Don Parman
Today’s workforce has access to ever increasing library of information and training on workplace health & safety, and often possess more practical and nuanced knowledge about safety as well. So what happens when Employers haven’t had the same training opportunities as their workers? Join Don Parman for this lively discussion as he explores this emerging issue and offers insight into navigating health & safety in the entertainment industry, and what employers need to do keep pace.
Safety Culture - Progress, not Perfection | Claire Mocock
Join Claire for a fun and interactive session where we debunk the myth that changing an organization’s culture is “too difficult.” Using simple and relatable language, Claire will guide you through the fundamentals of organizational and safety culture, making these concepts easy to understand and apply.
We'll start by imagining what a positive safety culture would look like in your own workplace. Through shared examples and a case study of some of Canada’s top safety culture companies, you'll get a clear picture of what's possible.
Next, Claire will show you practical techniques for motivating both workers and employers to make safety a priority. She'll share tried-and-true activities that have proven successful in change management and communication. The secret isn't just in the activities themselves, but in the consistent approach to planning, implementing, and educating your team about safety systems and initiatives.
Throughout the session, Claire will emphasize the importance of tailoring these activities to fit the unique needs of your organization, while also supporting your existing business processes. By the end, you'll walk away with actionable strategies to create and sustain a positive safety culture in your workplace.
SPEAKERS
| Tina Allmark, ESAC Director Tina Allmark is a Senior Operations Manager with three decades of experience in live television and live production environments. At the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, she leads a team of media professionals with a focus on multi-camera television production. Tina manages the activities of crew and facilities for video production across multiple studio sound stages, control rooms, and digital spaces as well as supporting requirements for staging & lighting installations across the country. Tina is the co-chair of the CBC Health and Safety Committee and is a current representative on the Environmental Lead Team Working Group, leading the organization in implementing and maintaining environmental practices. She makes a personal commitment to inclusive leadership by creating and fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace: one where all staff feel like they belong and their opinions matter. Passionate about creating a culture of workplace safety, Tina challenges her teams to make safety everyone’s priority and work together to minimize risk. She has prioritized safety training within her department with the belief that knowledge and skills help to create a culture of trust. |
| Masha Birkby Masha Birkby is originally from Kharkiv, Ukraine and has lived in Vancouver since 1995. She has worked backstage for over two decades in every facet of live entertainment possible. Theatre, dance, magic, festivals, music, special events, corporate—a true Jack-of-all-trades, Masha has done it all, in every department. In an effort to understand why she was struggling to keep her naturally predisposed cheerfulness in the work that she loved, she stumbled upon evolutionary theory, and it all clicked. Over time, Masha developed evolution-based tools and mind hacks for herself to help lead a more peaceful and fulfilled life, even in the face of the genuine difficulties backstage workers face daily. Between production managing for BC Event Management and being a parent to an amazing teenager, she’s passionate about sharing these tools with everyone, hoping they can help you as much as they helped her. You can find her writing on the subject at TheShowMustGoOn.substack.com |
| Stacey Forrester Stacey Forrester (she/her) is the education director of Good Night Out Vancouver. Stacey is a former community health nurse and community planner and consultant, with a passion for creating safer, more equitable arts and culture communities. Stacey is the co-founder and Education Director of Good Night Out Vancouver (founded in 2016), facilitating interactive and engaging workshops about sexual violence prevention and response for the nightlife, hospitality and live music sectors. She is also the Harm Reduction Manager for Bass Coast Music and Arts Festival, a position she has held for 10 years. Stacey was recently nominated for a Live Music Industry Award in the area of Community Impact. |
 | Dominic Housiaux Dominic Housiaux is a founding member of Risky Business Resources. RBR offers safety consulting, training, and operational support for the event and entertainment industry in the US, Canada, Europe, and Worldwide. |
| Simon Hunt Simon Hunt is an emergency management practitioner with over 30 years of experience. He has held various positions throughout his career, including search and rescue leader, city emergency program coordinator, and wildfire specialist. Simon also played a senior role in emergency coordination during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Currently, he serves as a public safety advisor for the Shambhala Music Festival while pursuing a Master's in Disaster & Emergency Management at Royal Roads University. His research interests are focused on developing event safety emergency planning guidelines for Canada, supervised by his mentor, Emma Parkinson (Glastonbury Festival/Coventry University). In his spare time, Simon is a performing artist known as SiFi. He also enjoys skiing and mountain biking and cherishes his role as a proud father to his two daughters in Revelstoke, BC. |
 | Stacey Lock Stacey K. Lock (She/her/hers) is a Registered Social Worker in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario and currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Windsor. Since 2007, she has been continuing to gain valuable experience collaborating within public safety leadership, and supervising 6 teams as the director of the harm reduction program for Shambhala Music Festival in British Columbia. Stacey advocates and adopts a harm reduction philosophy in every environment(festivals, at-risk populations) with the inclusion of providing safer spaces, relapse prevention support, overdose prevention, providing resources, psychosocial support, and consent education. |
 | Claire Mocock Claire Mocock, MBA, CRSP is an accomplished health and safety professional with an extensive background spanning over 15 years across diverse industries, including research and education, property management, gaming and casinos, transportation, construction, and live events encompassing professional sports, concerts, and festivals. |
 | Dagan Nish Dagan was active in community theatre throughout his childhood and has 14 years of professional experience in the motion picture industry. With a background in acting and teaching, he holds a BA in emergency and security management. He is also certified in psychological first aid, mental health first aid, and as a workplace psychological health and safety advisor. He has worked as an OHS consultant managing health and safety departments for several episodic series and an award-winning independent feature film. He has since completed his first year and a half as a safety advisor with Actsafe Safety Association. Since joining the organization, Dagan has spearheaded a new strategic initiative focused on workplace psychological health and safety. He also serves as a member of the Calltime Mental Health Champions campaign as well as ESTA's new Mental Health & Well-being Management Working Group. |
| Don Parman Don Parman has been steering the course of live entertainment towards a blend of creativity and safety for over three decades. As a Safety Specialist in the live entertainment industry, his mission is to harmonize the magic of the stage with an unwavering commitment to ensuring the well-being of every artist, crew member, and audience member. Behind the scenes, Don has crafted safety protocols, procedures and training tailored to the unique demands of live performances. From rigging and stage construction to crowd management and emergency preparedness, he works to ensure that every aspect of a production strives for the highest safety standards without compromising artistic vision. Don’s role extends beyond regulations; he is an educator and practitioner, empowering industry peers with the knowledge and tools necessary to navigate the intricacies of safety in the live entertainment sphere. |
| Alice Ride Alice’s background is rooted in Production within the commercial and non-union film industry in Vancouver, BC. After launching Set Protect in 2021 to provide COVID-19 compliant services during the pandemic, it became clear that all of us, at all levels, were lacking the support to be able to continue working in a way that maintained our well-being. Hardships from the pandemic was compounding the already immense pressure we feel in this industry. Alice then re-branded Set Protect in early 2023 to offer this much needed support to productions, filmmakers, and creatives. Through this work, Alice is also advocating and educating on what health and well-being looks like in our unique industry, and how we can implement it. |
 | Tami Richter Speaker Bio Coming Soon! |
 | Chris Troyanos, ATC Founder and President of Sports Medicine Consultants, (1980) Chris Troyanos, ATC is a successful entrepreneur who has served as the Medical Director and Coordinator for a number of athletic events. As the Medical Coordinator to the Boston Athletic Association, he is the architect for the medical coverage provided at the Boston Marathon. He has over 40 years of experience when it comes to the medical care and public safety for a number of endurance events. |
| Neel Vasavada Neel Vasavada is a driving force in the movement to bring green technology to the events industry. His engineering background and experience with both sustainable energy and live entertainment led him to found Overdrive Energy Solutions, a leader in sustainable energy systems. At the University of Wisconsin, Neel worked on hybrid and electric vehicle control systems. After earning his mechanical engineering degree, he created Apex Speed Technology, a company focused on control systems and engineering consulting for prototype, research & development vehicle projects. Customers included early-stage Tesla, Zero Electric Motorcycles, and the US Department of Energy. Over time, his focus turned to business development. In 2012, he wasasked to help develop the US market for European live event equipment supplier eps, which led to leadership roles at other live event companies. The same analytical and data-backedapproach to sustainability worked well in growing these businesses. During the pandemic downtime, these skill sets came together to form Overdrive Energy Solutions. Overdrive has become a leader in sustainable energy for live events. In 2023, a partnership with the sustainability non-profit Reverb.org resulted in the two largest solar-powered stages in US history. The first was Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion, which reduced fossil fuel use for stage power by 95%. In August, Overdrive made history with the largest temporary solar field ever for a US festival, powering parts of Billie Eilish’s headlining set at Lollapalooza Chicago. Overdrive has also provided power at notable events and venues such as Coachella, South by Southwest, Google's I/O developer conference, and Dodger Stadium, deploying over 10 MWh of energy. Moving forward, Neel is committed to developing cost-efficient, reliable, and clean energy systems for live events and beyond. |
Programming and speakers are subject to change.