'The show must go on': Event dramaturgy as consolidation of community

Event dramaturgy and cultural performance have not been examined in the literature from a strategic standpoint of fostering the social value of events. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the case of the Water Carnival, a celebratory event in a rural community of Southwest Texas, demonstrating the essence of this event as a symbolic social space, wherein event participants instantiate a shared and valued sense of community. A hermeneutical approach was employed, interpreting the event and its symbolisms as a text, combined with findings from ethnographic fieldwork, including participant observation, in-depth interviews and analysis of archival documents. The study examines the ways that dramaturgy in the Water Carnival helps frame the ongoing public discourse for community improvement and enhances social capital. The implications of the study for social leverage of events are discussed. It is suggested that a foundation for strategic social planning is the understanding of events as symbolic social spaces and their embeddedness in community development, which can be accomplished when events are pertinent to public discourse, address community issues, represent an inclusive range of stakeholders, and promote cooperation

Market-Driven Management in Community Events

The potential of tourism-based activities to help achieve environmental preservation and conservation has been recognised. Events are frequently identified in plans for destination development and promoted as an attractor for leisure activity visitors. Festivals and events might be considered a means to achieve sustainable development aims, whenever social, economic and environmental objectives are included in the policy makers’ agenda and translated into factual measures