Get Your First Festival Live in 10 Minutes
Stop overthinking it. You don't need a perfect CSV file, a complete session list, or hours of planning to get started. Here's how to create your first festival schedule in under 10 minutes—really.
Why Speed Matters
I've organized festivals for over a decade, and I've watched countless organizers get stuck in "planning paralysis." They spend weeks perfecting spreadsheets, debating session formats, and tweaking schedules—before they've even validated if anyone wants to attend.
Here's what I learned: The faster you get your festival online, the faster you can start promoting it, gathering feedback, and making real progress. Whether you're creating a yoga retreat schedule or a multi-day festival, the same principle applies.
That's why we built FlowGrid's "Quick Create" feature. Create your festival now, add sessions later. Let's do this.
The 10-Minute Festival Setup
1Create Your Account (2 minutes)
Head to FlowGrid.com and sign up. You can use Google sign-in or create an account with your email. No credit card required.
Pro tip: Use your festival email address if you have one. This makes it easier to manage permissions later when you invite your team.
2Fill in Basic Festival Details (3 minutes)
Click "Create Festival" and you'll see a simple form. You only need five things:
- Festival Name: What's it called? Keep it simple.
- Start & End Dates: When is it happening? Even if it's 6 months away.
- Slug: Your custom URL (e.g.,
summer-yoga-fest). This creates your public schedule link. - Location: City and venue name. You can add details later.
- Description: A one-liner about your festival. 10-15 words is plenty.
That's it. You don't need tracks, venues, or sponsor logos yet. Those come later.
3Skip the Sessions (30 seconds)
Here's the game-changer: when you reach the "Schedule" step, you'll see a checkbox that says:
☑️ I'll add sessions later
Create your festival now and upload your schedule when it's ready.
Check that box. Click "Continue to Preview." You just saved yourself hours of CSV wrangling.
Why this works: Most festivals don't have their full schedule finalized until weeks before the event. Why wait? Get your festival page live now, start building buzz, and add sessions as they're confirmed.
4Preview & Publish (2 minutes)
Review your festival details in the preview. You'll see:
- Your festival name and dates displayed beautifully
- Your custom public URL (e.g.,
flowgrid.com/summer-yoga-fest) - A message that says "Sessions coming soon" (perfectly fine!)
Click "Publish Festival" and boom—you're live.
5Share Your Page (30 seconds)
Your festival has a public schedule page now. Share it:
- Post the link on Instagram/Facebook: "Festival dates locked in! 🎉"
- Send it to potential speakers: "Want to teach? Here are the dates."
- Email your mailing list: "Mark your calendars—schedule details coming soon."
You're officially promoting your festival. In 10 minutes.
What Happens Next?
Now that your festival is live, you can add sessions whenever you're ready. Here's the workflow:
Option 1: Add Sessions Manually
Go to your festival dashboard → Manage Sessions → Click "Add Session." Fill in:
- Session title (e.g., "Morning Vinyasa Flow")
- Teacher name
- Start and end time
- Location/track (optional)
Perfect for festivals with 5-20 sessions, or when you're confirming teachers one-by-one.
Option 2: Upload a CSV Later
When your schedule is finalized, upload a CSV file with all your sessions at once. Go to Manage Sessions → Import from CSV.
Download our free CSV template to get started.
Option 3: Sync with Google Sheets
If you're already managing your schedule in Google Sheets, connect it to FlowGrid for automatic updates. Changes in your sheet sync to your public schedule in real-time. Learn more about spreadsheet integration. Need instant updates? Check out our guide on real-time schedule updates.
Real Organizer Success Stories
"I used to spend days perfecting my schedule before launching. Now I create the festival page in 10 minutes, share it with speakers, and they tell ME what times work for them. Game-changer."
— Sarah Chen, Mindful Movement Retreat
"I was stuck trying to build a CSV with 80 sessions. FlowGrid's quick create let me launch with 'Schedule TBA' and start taking early-bird registrations immediately. Added sessions over 3 weeks as teachers confirmed."
— Marcus Rivera, Urban Dance Festival
Common Mistakes to Avoid
❌ Waiting for the "perfect" schedule
Your schedule will change. Teachers cancel, times shift, venues swap. Launch now, iterate later.
❌ Over-customizing on day one
You don't need custom colors, sponsor logos, or fancy track names to launch. Add those later.
❌ Creating a CSV before you're ready
CSVs are for bulk imports. If you have fewer than 20 sessions, just add them manually one-by-one.
Your 10-Minute Action Plan
Here's your checklist. Set a timer and go:
⏱️ 10-Minute Checklist:
- Sign up at FlowGrid.com (2 min)
- Fill in festival name, dates, slug, location (3 min)
- Check "I'll add sessions later" (30 sec)
- Preview and publish (2 min)
- Share your public link on social media (30 sec)
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to create a festival schedule with Flow Grid?▼
Do I need technical skills to use Flow Grid?▼
Can I update my festival schedule after publishing?▼
Can I change everything later?▼
What if I don't have final dates yet?▼
Do I need a paid plan to create a festival?▼
Can attendees see my schedule if I haven't added sessions?▼
Ready to Launch?
Most festival organizers overthink the setup. They delay launching until everything is perfect. But perfect is the enemy of done.
Your festival doesn't need to be perfect. It needs to exist.
So set that timer, follow the 5 steps above, and get your festival page live in the next 10 minutes. You've got this.
About the Author
Florian Hohenleitner
Flo is an event organizer, podcast host, and creator passionate about helping people grow and connect. After leaving corporate life, he trained as a yoga teacher in Bali, became a Thai massage practitioner, and now co-organizes the Mediterranean Acro Convention while hosting the Grow with the Flo podcast. He creates tools like Flow Grid to help event organizers build meaningful experiences.
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