The unprecedented lake effect snow storm that has gripped large parts of Western New York and Buffalo has had little impact on the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center so far. Until today, the facility was open and operational. We have had three local events cancel that have already rescheduled for December.

The storm named the “Winter Storm Knife” or “Snow-Vember” by the local media had been limited until yesterday to a area about 12 miles wide x 20 miles long, literally one to two miles south of downtown and our location. This area includes South Buffalo, first ring suburbs, and the south towns as we call them, including Orchard Park—home of Ralph Wilson Stadium, which is buried under +200,000 tons of snow. The south towns area of Buffalo is traditionally the snow belt and the location of major ski resort areas.

As you may have seen in the media, the conditions are dangerous, the snow amounts historic, and the concern for the safety of residents are at the forefront of clean-up efforts. We have a number of staff that have not been at work since Monday and will likely remain out for the week. The event cancelations earlier in the week have allowed for us to reduce part-time staffing in some areas. Late yesterday and overnight, the storm did move to the north and into the city of Buffalo, and we went from a dusting of snow to a little less then 12 inches, which for us is very manageable. Because we had no scheduled events—and with all city and county of Erie facilities being closed today to allow for clean up of streets and roads—the building is also closed.

There are contingency plans that call for the convention center to be used as a emergency shelter and for the use of our kitchen facility as a commissary as needed. Those plans have not been enacted, and, as previously stated, there has been little impact on the downtown area.

We do have a large black tie gala event (1,000 guests) on Saturday evening, which at this point is still scheduled to take place, and the week of Thanksgiving is by far one of our busiest weeks of the year. We host two large annual local events—The Turkey Trot Post Race Party (14,000 people) and The World’s Largest Disco (7,000 guests). At this point, we are making contingency plans, adjusting personnel schedules and orders for food product for the Saturday night’s gala banquet. There is some concern about the ability of trucks to make deliveries today, and some vendors are simply not open or unable to fulfill requests. With some luck, use of alternative sources, and flexibility among our staff and clients, we should be all set to move forward with this event tomorrow and Friday.

The events next week are already falling behind on the set-up and move-in schedule due to difficulties of trucks delivering production equipment into the Western New York area with all of the major routes in and out of Buffalo being closed for the last three days. This will make for a more compressed schedule next week and possible overtime staffing as needed.

In Buffalo, we tend to not let snow or winter weather interrupt our daily lives. In fact, we have have the experience, resources, and expertise to deal with just about any winter storm safely and efficiently. This storm is certainly a challenge and there is great concern for residents in the areas hardest hit by the storm. We will get past this. The Buffalo Niagara Convention Center is prepared to support the clean-up efforts as needed and accommodate our schedule of events.

(Image: Facebook)

David Dunning is a social psychologist and a Cornell University professor. He is most famous for the Dunning-Kruger Effect (DKE) discovery, a cognitive bias in which incompetent people tend to overestimate their competence.

“Although what we know is often perceptible to us, even the broad outlines of what we don’t know are all too often completely invisible,” Dunning wrote in an article for Pacific Standard magazine. “To a great degree, we fail to recognize the frequency and scope of our ignorance.”

However, there is a way to avoid the Dunning-Kruger effect, and he addressed it during a recent Reddit AMA series.

The best way to avoid errors that you are unaware of (the Dunning-Kruger effect) is not to catch those errors (you won’t see them anyway), but to avoid making them in the first place. Or, if you are bound to make them, to mitigate their effect. How to do that?

Get competent. Always be learning.

Absent that, get mentors or a “kitchen cabinet” of people whose opinions you’ve found useful in the past.

Or, know when the problem is likely to be most common, such as when you are doing something new. For myself, for instance, I know how to give a lecture or a public talk. I do it all the time. However, just last month I had to buy a car, for only the fourth time in my life. Knowing this is an uncommon thing for me to do, I spent a lot of time [researching] cars…and also how to buy them.

Our most recent research also suggests one should be wary of quick and impulsive decisions…that those who get caught in DKE errors less are those who deliberate over them, at least a little. People who jump to conclusions are the most prone to overconfident error.

In the spirit of Dunning’s advice to always be learning, check out his full Reddit AMA for more advice and suggestions.

(h/t NYMag.com)

(photo credit: Nomadic Lass via photopin cc)

November 19 is the first-ever #LoveTheatre day on Twitter.

“The one-day extravaganza will give theatres the chance to celebrate the industry, connect to new audiences and showcase their unique and exclusive content through Twitter,” Kira O’Connor wrote on Twitter’s blog. “It is completely free of charge and open to all theatres, from professional to amateur dramatics, and any other cultural institutions that want to join in.”

The day will be broken up into three themes (along with specific hashtags) focusing on different industry aspects. From the Twitter blog:

1. #BackStage: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. GMT

—Theatres can give an access-all-areas glimpse into how a production comes together in the weeks leading up to the curtain rising.

—This time block also showcases the work of the unsung heroes of the theatre world, from production staff to prop procurers and veteran crew.

—It’s a place to share the intricacies and secrets behind show day itself. What really goes into costume and makeup, set design, and venue management.

2. #AskATheatre: 3 to 5 p.m. GMT

—This time is meant to showcase the voice of cast, crew, orchestra, and others through Twitter Q&As.

—It’s a great way to get followers involved and gives them the chance to get their questions answered.

—It’s also a unique opportunity for aspiring actors or keen stagehands to have their questions answered to discover how the magic happens.

3. #Showtime: 7 to 10 p.m. GMT

—Experience the main event, through Twitter, as the main performance unfolds.

—Twitter will be the virtual stalls that brings an added dimension to the typical theatre experience.

—Whether in the flesh or online, playgoers will be able to join the conversation through live tweets and Vines across the evening, right up to curtain call.

More than 350 theatres have signed on to be a part of #LoveTheatre Day. Will yours be one of them?

(Image: Twitter)

Have something you want to learn about or something you want to share with your industry peers? The VenueConnect 2015 Planning Committee invites you to submit session ideas for the annual conference, which takes place in Baltimore next year, Aug. 1-4.

It’s easy. just click on this link and fill out the form.

The committee strives to find the right mix of session topics and speakers, and we appreciate hearing from the membership. Last year’s session submissions included “Knowing Your Digital Value: Building and Measuring Effective Sponsorships,” “When a Crisis in a Venue Occurs,” and “Intelligent Capital Planning in the Age of Cost Reduction,” among others.

We look forward to your submissions and seeing you at VenueConnect next year!

Oxford Dictionaries has spoken, and the 2014 Word of the Year is “vape.”

“As e-cigarettes (or e-cigs) have become much more common, so vape has grown significantly in popularity,” Oxford Dictionaries wrote on its blog. “You are thirty times more likely to come across the word vape than you were two years ago, and usage has more than doubled in the past year.”

While conclusive scientific evidence is still out on whether vaping is good or bad for you, we’ve addressed the issue when it comes to how venue managers handle e-cigs. Please read the blog post “E-cigs, Venues, and Vaping Policies,” and the article “The Vaping Question” to learn more.

Since vaping is more popular, do you think the trend has settled a bit? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments.

And for the record, here are the Oxford Dictionaries’ other words and definitions that “vape” beat out for Word of the Year.

bae (n.)—used as a term of endearment for one’s romantic partner.

budtender (n.)—a person whose job is to serve customers in a cannabis dispensary or shop.

contactless (adj.)—relating to or involving technologies that allow a smart card, mobile phone, etc. to contact wirelessly to an electronic reader, typically in order to make a payment.

indyref, (n.)—an abbreviation of “independence referendum,” in reference to the referendum on Scottish independence, held in Scotland on Sept. 18, 2014, in which voters were asked to answer yes or no to the question “Should Scotland be an independent country?”

normcore (n.)—a trend in which ordinary, unfashionable clothing is worn as a deliberate fashion statement.

slacktivism (n.)—informal actions performed via the Internet in support of a political or social cause but regarded as requiring little time or involvement, e.g. signing an online petition or joining a campaign group on a social media website; a blend of slacker and activism.

(photo credit: Apollostowel via photopin cc)