Events on your calendar don't always appear in simple chronological order. A June event might sit above a March event when they are listed in the featured events area at the top of the page. This is expected — your calendar uses a priority system with three layers: Featured Events, Upcoming Events (local/native submissions), and Other Events (backfill listings).
Display Priority: Top to Bottom
- Featured Events — large image cards, displayed in random/"smart-serve" order
- Upcoming Events — directly submitted events, shown chronologically
- Other Events — backfill listings, shown chronologically
If events appear "out of order," check whether the higher event is featured or whether the ones below it are backfill. As an editor, you may have options to change the event status in some contexts.
In the featured section, content widgets, and related events areas, smart serve technology rotates sponsored events to meet visibility goals. Visitors may see different events on each visit. This only affects promoted areas — the Upcoming Events list is always chronological within its section.
Layout and Screen Width
The calendar layout adapts to the width of its container. On wider screens, Featured Events display three cards per row and Upcoming Events display two cards per row. On narrower or mobile-sized screens, Featured Events display as one or two taller cards per row and Upcoming Events display one card per row. Featured event cards have larger images designed to draw attention, while Upcoming event cards use a compact horizontal format, each of which will show in text the event title, date and time, venue name, and ticket price range (if applicable).
Note: Display sizing is being refined on an ongoing basis to minimize white space and ensure images and event information remain readable across all screen sizes.
Featured Events
The top of your calendar displays a Featured Events section. Events appear here when manually featured by an editor or admin, or when a promoter upgrades to a premium placement.
- Featured events are displayed in random order, not chronologically, so all featured events get equal visibility.
- When there are only one or two featured events on a calendar, they may appear at the front of the "Upcoming Events" list with a "Featured" banner rather than forming their own section.
- Multi-day events that have already started will only appear when they are featured. They will appear in that section with an "On Now" flag.
- Up to 10 rows of featured events are shown before any other content. For most calendars this will mean that all featured events appear in this section.
- If a calendar has more than 10 rows of featured events, a button labeled View more expands the area to show any remaining featured events.
To feature an event, click Manage on any listing in your admin and select Feature. See Manage Events for details.
Upcoming Events
Below the Featured Events section, locally submitted events appear in the Upcoming Events section in chronological order. These are events submitted directly to your calendar — via a submission form or added by an editor.
This section displays up to 16 rows of horizontal event cards. Each card shows the event title, date and time, venue name, and ticket price range if applicable. A "View more" button at the bottom expands the section to reveal additional events.
Because locally submitted events are prioritized over backfill content, a local event in June will appear in this section above a backfill event happening tomorrow. The system intentionally prioritizes content from local organizers.
Other Events (Backfill)
Below the Upcoming Events section, the calendar displays an Other Events section containing backfill data — listings imported from other event listing sites based on your publishing area and accepted categories.
These events are shown in chronological order after all Upcoming Events have been shown. They have the same card layout and size as Upcoming Events.
At launch, your calendar is typically populated entirely by backfill data. On a backfill-only calendar, everything appears in a single chronological list. Once a local event is submitted, the layout separates into the Featured / Upcoming / Other Events structure described above.
See Data Sources and Backfill for more on how backfill works.
Customizing Section Names
The default section headings — "Featured Events," "Upcoming Events," and "Other Events" — can be changed to suit your brand. In your partner admin, go to Site Settings and find the Theme options to edit these labels.