Local Events Roundup Builder: Free Claude Skill

How it works

Set the date windowUse send day +1 to +7, extending to +10 only to reach the minimum.
Apply the hard gatesCut anything without a direct link, a stated date and a proven covered town.
Build a balanced mixCover at least 3 days, family and adult picks, headliners, every town and no dominant venue.
Pick one featured eventFeature the event the most people would actually go to.
Write each lineUse the one-line format plus one sentence under 14 words on what you would do there.
Check and scoreRun the quality checks and score the section out of 3 before handing it back.

Have this ready

The issue's send date
Your covered towns, spelled as published
Candidate events with direct links
How many event lines your template holds
What ran in the last issue

What you get back

Featured event plus 5 to 7 more in the house line format
Mix check across days, towns and audiences
Cut list with reasons
Flags for anything unverified

A taste of the output

From the worked exampleMade-up town, for illustration

FEATURED
🍂 **Maple Grove Fall Festival** | *Town Square* | Maple Grove | 10/17 to 10/18 | [More](link)
Hayrides, a chili cook-off and a free kids' zone, both days.

THIS WEEK
🏈 **Homecoming Parade** | *Main Street* | Maple Grove | 10/16 | [More](link)
Floats, the marching band and the whole team waving from flatbeds.

🎻 **The Dry Creek Band** | *Harlow Amphitheater* | Harlow | 10/17, 7pm | [More](link)
Bluegrass and old-time fiddle under the stars; bring a blanket.

🐶 **Storytime with Therapy Dogs** | *Cedar Bend Public Library* | Cedar Bend | 10/20 | [More](link)
Little ones read picture books aloud to very patient golden retrievers.

(Town, venues and events are made up for illustration.)

What's in the download

local-events-roundup-builder/SKILL.mdThe playbook Claude reads

local-events-roundup-builder/examples/worked-example.mdA full sample run

local-events-roundup-builder/references/quality-checks.mdPass or fail checks

local-events-roundup-builder/templates/operator-worksheet.mdFill-in worksheet

New to skills? Here is how to add one to Claude in about three minutes.

Rather have it done for you?

The AI-native platform for local media.

larkfeed runs a local events calendar on your own site, so the candidates are already gathered when you build the issue.

See larkfeed

Questions

Why only 6 to 8 events when there are 40 happening?

Readers want to know what is worth doing, not everything that exists. A short, varied list across days and towns gets used; a long dump gets skipped. The full list belongs on a calendar page.

What if I cannot find enough events in the week?

The skill extends the window to 10 days out only to reach the minimum and puts those events last. If it is still short, it ships a labeled short list rather than padding with weak or unverifiable picks.

Why does it leave times off some events?

A wrong time sends readers to a closed door, and that costs more trust than a missing time. Times come only from the event's own page; if the page does not say, the line runs without one.