A Statewide Hallmark Event: The Exploration of Participants' Perceptions and Emotions

Abstract

The Indiana Bicentennial Torch Relay was a one-of-a-kind event that involved over 2,000 participants from all 92 counties. The event was created to invoke community pride and connectivity. The purpose of this study is to understand the emotions and perceptions of participants in a state-wide Hallmark event. To achieve the purpose of this study, this research studied the perception and emotions of the participants of the state-wide event. Participants filled out an online survey with questions related to their sense of community, perception and emotions of the event. Four different scales from previous research were used in the survey. A total of 490 participants responded to the survey. Normality and nonparametric tests were performed. The results of the tests showed an increase in positive affect after the event than before. Most of the perceptions of the event were shown to be relatively similar based on proximity and population of the counties. Showing that no matter the population of the community, perceptions of the event could be very similar.