Business Referral Network Tri Cities

BRNTC

Events Calendar Setup Guide

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.

Scroll to top