We’ve rounded up answers to some of the most frequently asked questions regarding The Inlander’s events calendar and the event submission process.
If you’ve ever submitted an event to The Inlander and wondered why it wasn’t printed in the paper right away, or have wanted to submit us your event but weren’t sure what to include, the following information should be pretty helpful.
What types of events does The Inlander publish?
As a general policy, The Inlander publishes events that would be of broad interest to our readers, and that complement the content of The Inlander’s editorial sections.
Events in the following categories are published on a mostly regular basis: comedy, community, crafts, etc., film, food/drink, music, sports/outdoors, theater, performance arts, visual arts and words.
Other occasional or special event categories include museums, holiday/seasonal and festivals.
There are a few online-only and rotating in-print event categories as well: trivia, karaoke, bar games and open mic. We try to print a roundup of these regularly scheduled, weekly events in the calendar section on a rotating basis when there’s space. However, all trivia, karaoke, bar game (think billiards or darts) and open mic nights can always be found online.
What types of events does The Inlander NOT publish?
Events you won’t find in The Inlander calendar include, but are not limited to the following, though on occasion there are exceptions: religious services and workshops; industry specific business meetings and events; support groups; and exercise and fitness classes.
What information do I need to send about my event?
We accept everything from very brief event submissions to entire press releases and press packets. Both are fine, as long as the following information is included:
Event name – In the print calendar, the event name is the bold-faced title. Online, it’s what people will see first when they search the online calendar.
Brief event description – A one-to-two-sentence, brief explanation of the event. These descriptions will be edited for space and wording.
Date and time
Cost
Age restrictions – If an event has a less-obvious age restriction, it will be noted it after the cost. Usually this only applies to music concerts or events at bars.
Place – We need to know the name of the venue where the event is occurring, as well as an address.
Event contact information – The last two pieces of each listing are a phone number or email address and/or a website where readers can go for more information or to sign up for an event. Sometimes this is the event venue’s website and phone number, sometimes it’s contact info for the person organizing the event. Either way, it needs to be a number that is an appropriate way our readers can find out more information.
Here’s a sample listing:
Spokane Symphony Classics series: “A Hero's Life” featuring works by Strauss and Verdi. March 16 at 8 pm and March 17 at 3 pm. $14+. Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox, 1001 W. Sprague Ave. spokanesymphony.org (624-1200)
How early should I submit my event?
To ensure your event is considered and seen by us before our print deadline each week, all events are due by Thursday at 5 pm the week before the issue of The Inlander in which you want your listing to appear. Events submitted after that deadline will not make it into the following week's print edition.
You can submit events earlier than this — which is encouraged — but that does not guarantee that it will be listed more than once in the issues leading up to it. Unfortunately, space does not always allow us to list events in advance because we receive so many each week.
What’s the best way to submit an event?
Most of the events we list are submitted to us via email, to getlisted@inlander.com or calendar@inlander.com. This is BY FAR THE BEST method to submit events, since event submissions are opened and sorted as they are received.
A very small number of events are submitted to us via mail. We don’t recommend submitting events this way unless you make sure to send it pretty early.
The Inlander’s website also has an event submission form, but for now we advise that you try NOT to use this form. It doesn’t always work and therefore is not a reliable way to tell us about your event. We also don’t check the online event submissions daily. Usually, these submissions are checked on Thursdays when the listings are due for the following week’s issue.
Also, if you submit an event online, please note that it will not appear on Inlander.com as soon as you submit it. All online submissions are edited and approved by the Listings Editor before appearing online.
Again, the best way to submit events is via email. You’ll also know we have received your event information because you should receive a quick response saying we got it.
Why isn’t The Inlander able to run my event every week if it’s ongoing?
One-time events take precedence over weekly, recurring events. If you have submitted an ongoing, weekly event that fits the rest of our submission guidelines, you don’t need to submit it to us every week. When you initially submit it, though, please note when the event will no longer happen on a recurring basis and we will keep track of when to stop listing it. If there are changes to the event after you’ve submitted it, though, please let us know as soon as possible.
What should I do if I need to get the word out about my event several weeks before it happens?
If you want people to know about an event weeks in advance, the best option is to take out a paid advertisement in addition to submitting the event information for consideration for the calendar. To find out more about ad rates, please email sales@inlander.com or call the front desk at 325-0634 and ask for the advertising department.
What can I do to improve the chances of my event being listed in the paper?
Since the events calendar is a free service based on available space, we cannot guarantee that all events — even if they meet submission guidelines — will be printed. If there is not enough space in an issue to run all of the events occurring during that issue’s Thurs-Wed time span, some events will be omitted from the print version. However, those events that have been cut from print still are published online. In each calendar section we try to include a tag directing readers to go to Inlander.com/events for complete local event listings. The online events calendar ALWAYS has the most comprehensive list of events compared with the print version of the paper.
How much does it cost to list an event in the calendar?
As an editorial section of the paper, there is no cost for events to run in the calendar.
Doesn’t The Inlander have an entire section for music events?
Yes. The music section Sound Advice — the section of the paper that’s before the events calendar — includes concerts and live music events in clubs and bars around the Inland Northwest happening during each issue’s time span (Thurs-Wed). Classical music performances like Spokane Symphony concerts, however, run in the regular events calendar.
How do I get my shows listed in Sound Advice?
Sound Advice includes live music performances happening in The Inlander’s distribution area. If you are a local musician or venue that hosts live music and don’t see your events listed, music listings are due each Monday at 5 pm for events from that Thursday through the following Wednesday to getlisted@inlander.com. If the space for the local live music listings is tight and we aren’t able to run all the events in the paper, our Music Editor decides which events to cut. Those events that end up not making it in print, however, will still be listed online at Inlander.com.
If you want to sign up for our weekly music listing email blast that goes out every Wednesday, please email getlisted@inlander.com and request to get on the list so you never forget to submit your shows!
