Calendars in Extension - comparing options

Extension maintains a centralized calendar for all public-facing events using a platform called Trumba. Most public events should be posted to the Extension Event Calendar, even if you maintain a separate calendar for your local or program website.

Extension Event Calendar

Events in the Extension Event Calendar can be filtered by Topic (Program), County, Audience, and Type of event. For in-person events, the location is automatically presented on a map view and events can be filtered by how close they are.

Adding your event to the Extension Event Calendar

Extension employees and county support staff can submit events by using the Event Calendar Management site. This lets you fill out a form collecting the details of your event. Events are then reviewed by staff in the Communications and Stakeholder Engagement office for basic mistakes and then approved. Due to licensing costs, we are currently unable to provide direct access for managing events in the calendar.

Note: 4-H events should be submitted to the 4-H Event Calendar.

Adding the Extension Event Calendar to your website

Pre-filtered views of the Extension Event Calendar can be added to your website based on Topic or County. While the Topics mostly align with the Extension Programs on the org chart, if an individual program has a significant recognition or reach, it is possible to add hidden filters for named programs. The county views are already integrated into all the Extension county sites hosted on our WordPress servers.

• Example Topic: Parenting Events
• Example County: Extension Taylor County
• Example named program: Pesticide Applicator Training

To add a view of the calendar to your website, contact Extension Educational Technology Support (ETS): helpdesk@extension.wisc.edu

Additional features of the Extension Event calendar in Trumba:

• Users can subscribe to a weekly update of coming events.
• Users can sign up for event reminders by text or email
• Add an event to your own calendar (Outlook, Google, Apple, Yahoo, etc)

The Extension 4-H program maintains a separate 4-H Events Calendar in Trumba. This was done in anticipation of all the possible local 4-H club and leadership meetings as well as 4-H statewide events which could quickly overwhelm the main Extension Event Calendar. Because they use the same system, statewide 4-H events can automatically be shared with the Extension Event Calendar.

Adding events to the 4-H Events Calendar is also done via the Event Calendar Management site via a dedicated 4-H Events form.

Google Calendar is part of the Google Workspace suite and is primarily used for coordinating and sharing events with volunteer organizations or other external partners.  External collaborators with Google accounts can assist in managing events.  Events from separate organizations and entities can be displayed as one calendar and users may subscribe to one or multiple calendars. 

It is recommended to use a wisc.edu service account for managing a public facing Google Calendar for continuity and efficiency.  This also allows some centralized administrative support.  Support is not available to individuals who set up their own Google Calendars.  It is also important to determine whether your county IT department blocks access to Google Calendar. 

• Example (Discovery theme) 4-H Calendar of Events – Extension Barron County
• Example (Kayak theme) 4-H Google Calendar – Extension Sheboygan County

Detailed instructions for embedding a Google Calendar (and more) into your site can be found in this Block Editor article (scroll down for Google-specific instructions)

For further support or to set up a service account, contact Extension Educational Technology Support (ETS): helpdesk@extension.wisc.edu, edtech@extension.wisc.edu, or by attending daily ETS office hours.

Event Magic is the custom-created and supported event calendar for WordPress and arguably the most visually appealing.  All events and details are managed by websites authors and editors.  The Event Magic plugin needs to be activated before use on your website.  It is integrated directly into your WordPress website, and content is managed on the dashboard of your site, much like you manage Posts and Pages. The way that an Event Magic calendar displays on the website is set by the author.  Users can choose to Show All Events or just a subset based on Event Categories. 

Some limitations of Event Magic include:

• No recurring events setting.  Each event is entered manually
• Not available for Topic Hubs (Trumba is the calendar of choice)
• No method of sharing event information with another website
• No adding to personal calendars

More information can be found here: Using the Event Magic Plugin Within the Block Editor

For further support or questions about Event Magic, contact Extension Educational Technology Support (ETS): helpdesk@extension.wisc.edu, edtech@extension.wisc.edu, or by attending daily ETS office hours.