Event: Aurora Borealis Festival
Attendance: 15,000+ guests
Duration: 3 days
Experience: Immersive Celebration of Light featuring fog illusions, LED installations, lasers, projection mapping, a global gift bazaar, and food trucks
The Vision
Visit Aurora launched the Aurora Borealis Festival to create a fully immersive winter experience designed to delight guests from the moment they arrived until the final exit.
The creativity was ambitious. The logistics were even bigger.
Delivering this experience required flawless coordination across dozens of operational functions, including staffing, guest flow, ticketing, cleanliness, and venue management. In the first year, the event succeeded, but only through grit, volunteers, and borrowed staff.
By year two, it was clear the festival needed a scalable operational partner.
The Challenge
During the first public year, nearly every operational issue landed directly on senior leadership.
“Volunteers, colleagues, and even our COO and HR director were cleaning restrooms and restocking toilet paper on Saturday night.”
Operational pressure showed up everywhere:
- Guest complaints and ticketing issues
- Vendor coordination and crowd flow
- Restroom maintenance and cleanliness
- Customer service throughout the venue
While the event was a success for attendees, it pulled leadership away from strategy, creativity, and growth.
The Laborjack Solution
When Visit Aurora partnered with Laborjack, the focus shifted from surviving the event to running it well.
Laborjack provided experienced, accountable teams across every operational touchpoint, including:
- Load-in and load-out crews
- Guest services and customer support
- Ticketing and POS staffing
- VIP check-in and experiences
- Merch booth staffing
- Tent maintenance and venue cleanliness
- Wayfinding and crowd flow management
- Restroom setup and servicing through on-site partners
From first load-in to final load-out, Laborjack served as the operational backbone of the festival.
The Results
A Smoother Guest Experience
Guests noticed the difference immediately. Entry, security, and movement through the venue were faster and more intuitive than ever before.
“Coming through the front gate and security has never been smoother.” Kristin Sutter, Director of Festivals
Zero Refunds Issued
For a festival welcoming more than 5,000 guests, Visit Aurora issued zero refunds and recorded no major complaints.
Fully Self-Sufficient Customer Service
Laborjack handled guest issues throughout the weekend, freeing dozens of senior staff hours.
“After the Laborjack team arrived, nothing needed my attention the rest of the weekend.” Kristin Sutter, Director of Festivals
Clean, Organized Load-OutThe park was restored quickly and proactively. The day after you could not even tell a large scale 3-day festival had been held there.
“After the Laborjack team arrived, nothing needed my attention the rest of the weekend.” Kristin Sutter, Director of Festivals
