Age: 49 Hometown: Greece Current residence: Greece Occupation: Owner of Bella Events Group On a blustery night in December, the winds from a winter storm scattered Jenna Manetta-Knauf’s igloos across downtown Rochester. One was in the middle of the ice rink. Another was halfway down Court Street. Some of the domes had splintered into pieces – metal frames and clear plastic panels strewn about Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park. Roc Holiday Village was scheduled to open in just a few hours. Manetta-Knauf had no time to panic. “The clock was ticking to get them back together,” she said. For most people, the scene would be a disaster. For Manetta-Knauf, it was just another problem to solve. Manetta-Knauf has been one of the people behind Rochester’s biggest gatherings for years. She is the co-owner of Roc Holiday Village, which launched in 2018, and has helped coordinate logistics for the Rochester International Jazz Festival since 2005. As the owner of Bella Events Group, she works throughout the year helping produce dozens more events in Rochester. “I find a lot of joy in creating spaces where people realize that this is a really great city to live in,” she said. Manetta-Knauf grew up on the westside, but so much of her work focuses on helping people enjoy themselves downtown, just like she did as a kid — especially during the holidays. “We’d go see Santa. We’d walk up Magic Mountain,” she said. “I just have very fond memories of that.” Those memories were the spark for Roc Holiday Village and many more gatherings. Manetta-Knauf strives to produce experiences that people remember — from an instagrammable photo box at Rochester’s inaugural Flower Fest to goat yoga at the Downtown Definitely series. And she does it all from behind the scenes. “She doesn’t need to be recognized,” said Bri Carpenter, Manetta-Knauf’s second-in-command. “She wants people to remember the way they felt.” Carpenter said the work is rarely glamorous. Setting up for Roc Holiday Village, for example, always seems to happen in the driving November rain. “Or we’re 10 hours into an insane day and we have to go clean a restroom trailer because it’s flooding,” Carpenter said. Or, a festival’s signature igloos scattered in pieces just hours before the first booking.  But by the time the festival opened, all 10 igloos were put back together and placed, its guests none-the-wiser.  In the ten years they’ve worked together, Carpenter said the thing she admires most is Manetta-Knauf’s enduring calm. “The world could be burning down around us and she’d just be like, ‘OK, we’re going to figure this out,’” said Carpenter. And there can be a lot. Vender cancellations, Canadian wildfire smoke. And in Rochester, the weather. Such was the case during this year’s Rochester Pride Festival, when severe storms forced organizers to cancel early. Afterward, the decision was criticized on social media. “When you’re running an event, it’s just a series of punches to the face,” said Joe Alessi, the city’s manager of special events,  He has worked with Manetta-Knauf for years, and calls her the “consummate events person,” not just because she can see some of those punches coming, but because she can roll with the ones that land. “It’s her ability to persevere, adapt, figure out situations,” he said. Manetta-Knauf herself is more self-deferential. There are, of course, moments when she has to fake it a little. “I kind of fudge it in front of the team, like, ‘We’re gonna make this happen!’” she said. “But inside, I have no idea how this is gonna happen.” She moves forward in spite of this. Away from work, life demanded the same of her. A divorce and, later, a stroke changed her relationship with stress and her perception of control. And it reaffirmed her belief that everything happens for a reason. “I’ve always had faith that there’s a path that was already created for me,” she said. “As long as I don’t resist the path … It’s going to be OK.” For many Rochesterians, the rhythm of the year is marked not just by seasons, but by events: Jazz Fest in the summer, Roc Holiday Village in the winter, and countless other gatherings in between celebrating music, food, art and community. The people attending them don’t see the planning or the fixing. They don’t see Manetta-Knauf’s emergency kit: big, black plastic totes full of extension cords, zip ties and band aids. They may not even see Manetta-Knauf herself, moving barricades or coordinating with vendors. They see the lights, hear the live music, take photos with Santa. Hopefully, they will remember how it felt. And for Manetta-Knauf, that is the point. The ultimate goal is to bring people together, and give them a new appreciation for Rochester. “I actually look at it as a responsibility,” she said. “I love the city, and I think there’s so much that we have to offer.” bellaeventsgroup.com —VERONICA VOLK The post Rochester Ten | Jenna Manetta-Knauf appeared first on CITY Magazine. Arts. Music. Culture.. ...read more read less