Below is an open letter from Caroline Rosen, President of Tales of the Cocktail Foundation:
We wanted to take a few moments to check in on our global hospitality community during these incredibly challenging times. First and foremost, we hope this note finds you and your family safe and well.
To us, it is critical to keep this community—one that is unwavering in its commitment to serving others—connected during these unprecedented times. In keeping with guidance from Mayor LaToya Cantrell to postpone or cancel all festivals in New Orleans, it goes without saying that Tales of the Cocktail® can not take place in its regular format in July. Unfortunately, we are among a good company of iconic events including New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and ESSENCE, which come just before us. While we cannot host a week-long conference that brings together thousands of people across every pocket of the globe, Tales of the Cocktail® will continue. Though it will be in a different form this year, we are formulating a plan to ensure we are able to honor a nearly two decades long tradition in ways that are safe and feasible.
What does that mean? Primarily, we are rapidly adopting ways to scale and digitize our work. The theme of this year’s Tales of the Cocktail® is “Catalyst,” born out of a desire to facilitate innovation and transformation by providing a platform to collaborate and influence the drinks industry collectively. This theme was selected prior to the global pandemic, but rings true today and inspired what we see as the future of The Foundation’s work: a brand new digital Tales 2020 platform.
Here are the first programs introduced under the Tales 2020 umbrella:
FULL HANDS IN / FULL HANDS OUT
A weekly webinar series bringing leaders in the drinks industry together to discuss tough topics affecting our community. Mondays at 12PM CST.
Healthy Pour
A psycho-education series featuring Laura Green, MEd, LPC getting real about the state of mental health in the drinks industry. Laura and special guests dive into topics like grief, wellness, anxiety, and emotional burnout in order to give our community tools to get through this unique time. Thursdays at 3PM CST.
In addition, we have developed an ongoing list of industry resources available here.
Our greatest hope is that come July, our country might be in a position to enable us to convene in small groups in our favorite neighborhood watering holes. Should the W.H.O., CDC, and all pertinent local and state officials determine small gatherings are safe, we will do our best to develop ways to bring Tales to your communities directly. Until then, we look forward to sharing continued updates on how to experience Tales at home.
We would love to stay connected right now as these programs evolve and factor your input into our plans. Please send any comments and feedback to [email protected]. If you have something you can give to our community right now, please send it along with the subject line “COVID-19 Resources.”
