But HOW Were You There?!
Since starting to go to shows, the question I have always seemed to get is HOW?! How did you hear about that? How did you go? How did that happen? Although the premise and main objective of this blog is not to necessarily offer ways on how to go to certain events, I still would like to share a mini “how to” guide to explain how I personally go about most event searches and how you could utilize similar tactics!
I have a few go-to outlets I use routinely to find out about the next upcoming event. 1iota is probably the one I use most; It’s the first website I ever discovered that offers free tickets to almost all talk shows and other audience based events in NY, LA, Chicago, etc. I first came across it by accident when looking for tickets to LIVE! With Kelly, but it was the best accident to ever happen because I have become obsessed with it! The majority of the shows offered are talk shows, but the site sometimes includes tickets for movie premieres, special musical performances, and screenings that are seeking audience attendance. To gain access, all you have to do is create a free profile on their website and from there, you can request tickets for as many events you would like! Depending on the celebrity appearance and what specific event is taking place, some shows sell out more quickly than others so that’s why it’s good to always be on the lookout for the next show they are offering. If you get the opportunity to receive tickets, you usually get an email asking to claim the tickets right away. That will lead you to receiving a ticket for either “priority” or “general”. To be honest, my first show I ever attended, I didn’t know what anything meant. The call time was for around 10am and I had general admission. I got there right on time thinking that’s what you were supposed to do, but what I came to discover upon arrival was a line already formed due to the fact that it is a first come first serve basis . Turns out, people get there hours prior (sometimes even a day before depending on the celebrity guest) to ensure they have good seats. I also didn’t realize that when you are “general”, that means you check in after the “priority” group, so the chances of being front and center for the show are slim to none. This probably took me 3 or 4 shows to get the hang of until I fully understand how to master the process. What I also didn’t realize initially is the more shows you attend, the more points you get added to your profile, which betters your chances of getting tickets! Now that I’ve gone to quite a few, I would recommend the below:
*Arrive at least an hour before the call time to ensure you are close or even front of the line. If its a big name celebrity, I would suggest getting there even 2-3 hours prior to ensure your spot (and if you have guests with you, theirs as well). I’ve done that for certain events and as annoying it is to wait, its really worth it in the end if you love the celebrity enough! Also, it’s a great opportunity to network and meet people since you are all all waiting in line — It took some time for me to build up the courage and start a convo, but once I did I realized it is a great networking opportunity — you never know who you are going to meet!
* Request early enough so you get priority!! This definitely requires some dedication and commitment to checking the site frequently, but if its a show you are really interested in then I can promise you, its worth it to get those priority tickets.
*In the off chance you get general, you still have a chance of it changing to a priority ticket as people have up until 24 hours prior to the show time to cancel, so your ticket could change from general to priority without requesting early. General doesn’t equal bad, it just means that you may be further back. So, if you end up with general admission, I would try to get there as early as possible so you are first in line for that section!
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