From WhatsApp to Welcome Desk - Admin Diaries

I didn’t always know that administration was my thing.  I just knew I liked order, I liked

knowing what was happening, when, where, and with who. Long before apps,

spreadsheets, and shared calendars, I was running festivals with scribbled notes, Post-

its, and pure instinct. I call it the organic checklist. It’s not in a binder, it’s in your head, in

your bones. You know when something’s off. You remember who didn’t submit a form.

You can sense when a document’s missing, even before the call comes in. You don’t

just manage tasks, you feel the event.

Big and serious, we’re the original Siris.  Before voice commands and automation, we

were the reminders, the alerts, the finders of files, the translators of chaos into clarity.

And we still are, but here’s what we don’t always do: give ourselves grace.

A gentle word to the wise though - you won’t get everything right, you will miss

something. The printer will jam the morning of arrival and sometimes, the artist still

forgets their passport.  Give yuhself lil grace and a little shut eye on the plane ride over.

Throwback: CARIFESTA XIII, Barbados (2017)

When Barbados hosted CARIFESTA XIII, I was the Programme Coordinator. It was a

beast of a production,  days blurred into nights, and the WhatsApp notifications never

stopped. But because we documented many aspects of our programming, that admin

work became the foundation we’re using now for CARIFESTA XV.  That’s what admin

does when it’s done right: it creates continuity. It makes culture sustainable.

Let’s Talk About Legacy, when admin fails, the cracks run deep, that powerful youth

theatre piece? Gone, because no one archived it.  That beautiful moment of

collaboration between artists? Forgotten, no one wrote it down. That lesson we swore

we’d never forget? Buried in someone’s inbox.  Poor admin doesn't just make the event

harder. It steals legacy.

CARIFESTA XV

Peoples…. In my best McFingall voice we have 68 days, and for us admins that just

1,632 hours until the Opening Ceremony. To every administrative ninja coming with

delegations this is your bat signal. Time to do what we do best book those flights,

confirm accommodation, coordinate that checklist with military precision. All while

getting people their coffee with extra sugar.

You got this. This is our dance, this is our performance this is our time to shine. So we

know the drill, its heads down, fingers moving, we planning back ups for back ups and we building relationships because the best adminis. Know how to do this. And if you

need lil help, holla.

We are the blueprint for how things get done.

We say "Get up good. We got seats and moving." But this is what I mean: Move with

intention. Move with grace. Move together. You’re not alone you’ve got a whole village

out here that gets it.

This is just the first of many Voice notes from the Village as we make our way to

CARIFESTA XV. I’ll be sharing more lessons, reminders, templates, and yes some of

the sweet chaos too.

Because this is real work. And we’re real people.

Takeaway: Admin doesn’t just make the event happen. It protects the memory. It holds

the magic. It carries the culture forward.

Give yourself grace. And keep moving.

Written by Kim Butcher

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