Different Types Of Calendar Events

As an extrovert, I love getting together with people. I meet up with friends at the park, host birthday parties for my kids, and go out to lunch with co-workers. Recently, I noticed most of my personal plans are similar to the different event types in Luminate Online's Calendar Events.

An event that happens on a specific day with a specific start and end time is a standard event. Standard events are the most common types of events created in Luminate Online. The birthday parties I throw for my kids are standard events, as they happen on a day on or near their birthday. The parties have a specified start time, and I'm always hopeful all the guests leave my house after two (maybe three) hours. Other examples of a standard event include annual galas, donor appreciation events, and bake sales.

Just after college, my now-husband and I would host a weekly TV viewing night, first of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and then of other shows. Our friends knew we had an open-door policy and could join us any Tuesday they wished from 7–9 p.m. These viewing nights were recurring events. Recurring events have a specific start and end time and happen on a schedule, such as weekly or monthly. A monthly volunteer information session is another example of a recurring event. Just like our weekly TV viewings had an open-door policy, recurring events in Luminate Online can only have the open attendance option.

Multi-Day events take place over multiple consecutive days. A three-day conference or a weekend campout are examples of multi-day events. Or in my case, spending a weekend at the local Renaissance festival with family and friends.

Multi-Part events are single-day or multiple-day events that contain additional events inside of them. The main event is called the parent and the smaller events are the children. Multi-part events could be a golf tournament with staggered tee times or an educational event with breakout sessions. In my family, our annual New Year's Day Star Wars Original Trilogy Original Versions Movie Marathon (have you figured out yet that we are huge nerds?) is our multi-part event. We post the start times for each movie and our friends can come by and watch one, two, or all three movies with us.

When creating Calendar Events in Luminate Online choose the event type carefully, because once you save your event, you can't change the event type. To learn more about event types, attendance options, and creating and managing events, register for Luminate Online: Calendar Events, our new online instructor-led course.