Calendee Events Calendar

The Problem

There was plenty going on around Dallas–Fort Worth, but finding it meant checking a dozen bookmarks. We usually heard about the great concert or play after it had already happened. As the launch post put it:

We always found out about that great concert or theater performance after the fact.

From the Calendee launch post, September 22, 2006

What I Built

• Enter a zip code or a city, pick a distance from 5 to 50 miles, and see what is on nearby.
• 22 categories with subcategories, from ballet and opera to book clubs, chess, farmers’ markets and library storytime.
• A day-by-day list that starts with what is happening now, not last week.
• Click an event to see its full schedule, a link to the venue’s own website, and a map and address.
• Every event checked by hand. The calendar took suggestions, not open submissions, so it stayed free of junk listings.
• Weekly ad spots for local businesses, including a spot for a restaurant shown beside every event at a nearby venue.

Why It Ended

Calendee didn’t close so much as narrow. On March 1, 2007 the company relaunched the site as Better Than Broadway, a calendar just for the fine arts:

Calendee, LLC has rebranded and launched a new website, Better Than Broadway. This new website is dedicated to the fine arts.

From the Calendee blog, March 1, 2007

By August 2007, calendee.com was a single banner pointing visitors to Better Than Broadway.

What It Means for Your Project

A community calendar sounds simple until you have to keep it accurate. I’ve built search by location and distance, sorted thousands of listings into categories people actually browse, and kept the data clean. If your nonprofit or small business needs an events calendar or a local directory, I know where the work really is.