Events Calendar Setup Guide

Complete guide for installing The Events Calendar plugin and importing 349 prepared community events.

Overview

We have 349 community events ready to import across three sites:

  • Vallie Insurance: 237 business and community events
  • BRNTC: 296 business networking and community events
  • BRCTN: 296 arts, culture, and community events (already imported)

Step 1: Install The Events Calendar Plugin

For Each Site (Vallie Insurance, BRNTC)

  1. Go to WordPress Admin
    • Vallie Insurance: https://vallieinsurance.net/wp/wp-admin/
    • BRNTC: https://brntc.net/wp-admin/
  2. Navigate to Plugins → Add New
  3. Search for “The Events Calendar”
  4. Install and Activate the plugin by Modern Tribe
  5. Go to Events → Settings to configure basic options

Recommended Plugin Settings

  • General Tab:
    • Default view: Month view
    • Enable event search: Yes
    • Enable Google Maps: Yes (if desired)
  • Display Tab:
    • Events URL slug: “events”
    • Single event URL: “event”
    • Show events in main blog loop: No

Step 2: Import Event Data

Method 1: CSV Import (Recommended)

  1. Download CSV Files:
    • Vallie Insurance: /events_output/vallie_events.csv
    • BRNTC: /events_output/brntc_events.csv
  2. Go to Events → Import in WordPress admin
  3. Select “CSV” as import type
  4. Upload the CSV file for your site
  5. Map fields correctly:
    • Event Title → Title
    • Event Description → Description
    • Start Date → Start Date
    • End Date → End Date
    • Location → Venue Name
  6. Run the import
  7. Review imported events

Method 2: Manual Entry (For Custom Events)

  1. Go to Events → Add New
  2. Fill in event details:
    • Event title and description
    • Start and end date/time
    • Venue information
    • Event categories and tags
  3. Add featured image if available
  4. Publish the event

Site-Specific Event Categories

🏢 Vallie Insurance Events

  • Insurance Education Seminars
  • Community Safety Workshops
  • Business Protection Webinars
  • Client Appreciation Events
  • Industry Conferences
  • Local Community Events

Focus: Professional, educational, community-minded events that showcase expertise and community involvement.

🏢 BRNTC Events

  • Monthly Networking Meetings
  • Business Development Workshops
  • Entrepreneur Speaker Series
  • Greene County Business Mixers
  • Professional Development Seminars
  • Chamber of Commerce Events

Focus: Business networking, professional development, and Greene County economic development.

🎭 BRCTN Events (Already Imported)

  • Local Arts Festivals
  • Cultural Celebrations
  • Artist Showcase Events
  • Community Theater Performances
  • Music and Arts Workshops
  • Gallery Openings

Status: ✅ 43+ events already imported and active

Step 3: Post-Import Configuration

Event Categories

Create appropriate categories for your events:

  • Vallie Insurance: Education, Community, Safety, Business
  • BRNTC: Networking, Development, Chamber, Business

Event Venues

Set up common venues with full address information:

  • Office locations
  • Community centers
  • Conference facilities
  • Online/virtual venues

Calendar Display

  1. Create Events Page: Add [events-calendar] shortcode
  2. Add to Navigation: Include events in main menu
  3. Widget Setup: Add upcoming events widget to sidebar
  4. Homepage Integration: Show upcoming events on homepage

Step 4: User Permissions (BRNTC/BRCTN)

Important: Preserve User Functions

For BRNTC and BRCTN sites, ensure users can still:

  • ✅ Add events to the calendar
  • ✅ Use chat functionality
  • ✅ Send group emails
  • ✅ Access user profiles
  • ✅ Use all existing user features

User Role Configuration

  1. Go to Users → Roles (or use a role editor plugin)
  2. Ensure members can:
    • Create events (edit_tribe_events)
    • Edit their own events (edit_published_tribe_events)
    • Delete their own events (delete_published_tribe_events)
  3. Test with a member account to ensure functionality works

Step 5: Ongoing Maintenance

Regular Tasks

  • Review upcoming events weekly
  • Remove past events or archive them
  • Update event details as needed
  • Add new events as they’re planned
  • Monitor user-submitted events for approval

SEO Optimization

  • Use descriptive event titles with location keywords
  • Include relevant tags for each event
  • Add detailed descriptions with calls to action
  • Use featured images for better visual appeal
  • Enable event schema markup for search engines

Troubleshooting

Common Issues and Solutions

Events not displaying

Solution: Check that events are published and not set to private. Verify the shortcode is correct: [events-calendar]

Import failed

Solution: Check CSV format, ensure date formats are correct (YYYY-MM-DD), and verify file size limits.

Users can’t add events

Solution: Check user permissions, ensure events post type is enabled for user roles.

Calendar not styled properly

Solution: Check theme compatibility, may need custom CSS or switch calendar view.