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Are you bored due to social distancing? I was. But, lately, I’ve been attending a TON of virtual events! So today, I’m sharing a list of places where you can find virtual events and I’ll tell you about the events that I’ve been attending.

Here's where to find free and low cost virtual events to socialize and/or learn | Naturally Stellar

There are a LOT of fun and interesting events that you can attend virtually. And because they’re virtual, you can attend events anywhere in the world.

If you’ve been looking for something to do to have a little fun, socialize or maybe even educate yourself, I have the perfect list of places for you.

From conferences, tours and travel to cocktail classes, I have the links for what you’re looking for. But first, here are the types of things I’ve been attending.

The Types Of Virtual Events I’ve Been Attending

Arts & Culture

Last month, I attended an evening virtual tour of the new National Museum of African American Music, that will be open to the public soon in downtown Nashville.

The museum will be located on 5th and Broadway in the heart of Music City. It’s currently under construction but from what I can see the museum is going to be very interactive and gorgeous!!

National Museum of African American Music in Nashville - artist rendering | Naturally Stellar — credit: NMAAM

After the tour, I got a chance to chat with the staff at TPAC, ask questions and listen to a live demonstration from a spoons player. If you plan on visiting Nashville in 2021, you’re going to want to get tickets for this!

National Museum of African American Music in Nashville, TN | Naturally Stellar — credit: NMAAM

I also was a panelist for a docu-series. Our discussion was about a film called Back To Natural. It was a virtual discussion about natural hair, Black culture, and the politics/policing of Black hair around the world. I talked about my 23-year journey with natural hair.

Unfortunately, our host forgot to record the session so I can’t share it with you. But you can see the documentary and more about the docu-series here: https://youtu.be/wF8wmcIZOJs

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A post shared by Gillian Scott-Ward (@backtonaturaldoc)

I even participated in a virtual town hall meeting about the diversity and inclusion of non-Country genres of music on Music Row in Nashville. Because my professional background includes music publishing and songwriting/production, I’m always trying to stay informed about what’s going on in the music industry.

If you’d like to catch the replay, you can check that here: https://youtu.be/90W68tEeeoU

Business/Professional Virtual Events

This month I attended LaterCon2020, which was a 1-day social media conference sponsored by Later. It included a great variety of social media industry experts and speakers from Pinterest, Thrillist, Buzzfeed.news, YouTube, and more.

To kick off the day, Kev On Stage shared his social media experience with conference-goers. He talked about how he got started and what tools he used to help him grow his social media presence and following.

Watch the replay here! https://youtu.be/NorolpTShZY

The rest of the sessions covered topics such as content planning, time management, burnout, the creative process, social platforms, the future of influencer marketing, working with brands, diversity & inclusion and so much more.

It was one of the best conferences I’ve attended in a while.

Fuel Your Influence (FYI) was another conference I attended. It cost me $45 and I sure got my money’s worth and then some! I was very pleased with the quality of the speakers.

The focus of this particular conference was all about blogging and content creation. The sessions were pre-recorded and live with great Q&A’s at the end of each one.

There was also a chance to network with brands in smaller breakout rooms. They had giveaways and “swag bags” were mailed out to the attendees which included loads of coupons for free items or services.

Where to find free and cheap virtual events to attend | Naturally Stellar

ShiftCon is another great conference that I attended this month. The speakers and panels were excellent! I had a chance to do some networking and landed some opportunities to further partner with some innovative brands in 2021.

You can find out more about ShiftCon here: https://naturallystellar.com/2020/10/06/why-shiftcon-social-media-conference/

Adobe Max was one of THEE best conferences for creatives that I’ve seen in a LONG time. They had back to back session for 3 days straight, 24 hours a day. Each day was packed with celebrity appearances, creative industry pros and Adobe product tutorials.

My favorite keynote was with Ava Duvernay talking about how she got started in film. I also got in a few refresher courses in Photoshop, Premiere Pro and Audition.

The celebrity sessions were only available live during the conference but you can check out the keynote and opening session here: https://www.adobe.com/max/2020/sessions/adobe-max-keynote-od5060.html

A list of free and low cost virtual events | Naturally Stellar

Where To Find Virtual Events To Attend

I’m challenging you to find something fun or interesting to do online. You can either use my list or do your own Google search to find your specific interests.

No matter which option you choose, be sure to RSVP to your events so you can take full advantage of all of the available freebies like replays, swag and giveaways.